Fate-Alter Time
by Leo Novum
Summary: Things are apparently going on the same as before but things are quite different deep down. Is it the same or is it any different? A tale of an absolutely selfish man against the tale of an absolutely selfless one.
1. The Tears of Soldiers

_**I do not own Fate Stay Night. Fate Stay Night is the property of Type-Moon, written by Kinoko Nasu.**_

_**Chapter One: Tears of Soldiers**_

Shirou woke up with a gasp. His entire body was covered in sweat as if he had just run several miles non-stop. He fumbled around his futon and finally freed himself from his blanket. He looked at the digital clock beside him. It was barely 6 in the morning. The sun was to rise in a little more than an hour. Shirou sat up, trying to adjust his breathing like the way he did in his archery sessions. He steadied his respiratory rhythm in under a minute, just as he liked. After a few moments, he got up and put on his shirt and pants and got out of his room.

He would end up dreaming about that wretched disaster every once in a while. It was impossible of him not to and even understandable but Shirou would rather have dreamless sleeps. Just the thought of all those people that died senselessly could cause him to lose control of his breathing and space out. His father, Emiya Kiritsugu, had even misdiagnosed it as some sort of seizure at first but later it had been recognized as a form of survivor's guilt. His father had, however, expressively forbidden him to use medication to get over condition, a fact that the psychologist had found outrageous. He had later told him that such drugs which had an effect on a mage's mind tended to trigger a mage's circuit system and forcibly clean the drug out of his body. Even if he allowed Shirou to use medication, the end result would be pointless. Shirou could tell that it gave Kiritsugu no pleasure in denying him this treatment so he had simply smiled and told him that it would be alright.

Fortunately, those dreams only happened once a month and thus Shirou learned to adapt to his new life. He couldn't remember anything about his old life so the change did not affect him much. He learned to endure the dreams and not show his guilt to his father. Shirou could tell that his father loved him very much. Too much in fact. Any pain Shirou would feel was reflected on him ten times as much. It sometimes seemed that it was Kiritsugu who was dependant on Shirou, not the other way round.

Which was why after a while, Shirou started lying about his dreams. Even when he relived it, he lied.

But this dream had been different. It started out suspiciously similar like the usual one but for the first time, Shirou had felt no guilt. He had felt familiarity.

_A charred landscape…_

The young boy made his way through the various corridors in his house. How his father had afforded such a magnificent place was something he couldn't understand but he never thought too hard about it. All Kiritsugu had told him about his previous life was that he had tried to become a hero of justice and had found the task too difficult for him. Other than that, he had been a simple Japanese mage who found Shirou at the disaster site of Fuyuki and adopted him.

_A tainted sky…_

Shirou discovered, to his dismay, that someone had left the lights inside the dining room on all night. Taiga perhaps? She was an enthusiastic teacher, a good kendo practitioner, a voracious eater and the clumsiest woman who had ever set foot on earth. She also had, to Shirou's everlasting horror and surprise, a crush on his father. Shirou had often mistaken her even clumsier antics and occasional stuttering as some sort of psychological disability. Taiga had hit him over the head with a mop when he told her that. She apparently got over her crush on Kiritsugu although Shirou wasn't sure. Kiritsugu had been her mentor in both English and Kendo, both of which Shirou had found immensely confusing and surprising. He had never mentioned about being proficient to a degree in them to Shirou. Shirou had simply shrugged and asked for Kiritsugu to teach him as well.

Kiritsugu had complied. Kendo had been easy. English had been monstrous. Shirou had been, to his regret, quite jealous of Taiga and had even sulked for some time. Kiritsugu had been confused at his behavior but it had been Taiga, most surprisingly, who had understood the reason.

_Gigantic gears in the background…_

Shirou really wanted to be like his hero, Emiya Kiritsugu.

_Activate Unlimited Blade Works…_

Shirou couldn't understand what was so special about that dream or that sentence but he felt the deepest connection to it. As if somehow, he was tuned to something that the dream represented. Something vast and powerful. Something…

Shirou's line of thought was interrupted by the sight of the kitchen light. Shirou might have missed the dining room's light but he personally made sure to shut off the kitchen's. But someone had turned it on. Shirou walked towards the kitchen with cat-like tread, intending to surprise whoever was in his beloved kitchen.

"Oh, it's only you, Maiya nee-san." Shirou said, breathing a sigh of relief. Kiritsugu had often drilled into him the importance of exercising caution when something was out of place. But more often than not, Shirou had found things to be false alarms.

"Good morning, Shirou." The black haired woman answered. She was sitting at the kitchen table and holding a steaming mug in her hands. Shirou noticed the mug contained coffee.

"Bad dreams?" The red head asked sympathetically. The woman nodded silently. Shirou didn't pursue the subject and instead started to make breakfast.

Hisau Maiya had been Emiya Kiritsugu's apprentice and assistant. Both his dad and her had never explained what sort of work they had done in the past although guessing from Maiya's troubled dreams about wars, Shirou had guessed that Kiritsugu had rescued her when he had been in some war struck zone. Probably doing relief work for the refugees or something. Kiritsugu had neither confirmed nor denied what he said, cementing the thought in Shirou's mind that Kiritsugu had been helping the poor victims of war and was simply not telling about his heroic exploits out of modesty. What else could a gentle hearted man like him could have been doing there?

"How would you like your eggs done this time, Maiya nee-san?" Shirou asked.

"Scrambled." She answered and relapsed into silence.

Ten years ago, Hisau Maiya had been a cold and emotionless individual. When Kiritsugu had adopted him, she hadn't even objected or said anything. She hadn't even batted an eye. When Shirou had started cooking, she would eat everything he made without the slightest objection. Unlike Kiritsugu, who would eat the stuff he made to humor him, Maiya plainly didn't care. For her, food was fuel. Nothing more, nothing less. Taste, texture, smell, intensity or anything else about it didn't matter.

That was all that Shirou needed for inspiration to find something that she would want to eat. He became determined to find out what she liked. And when he asked her, she curtly answered that anything would suffice.

Shirou didn't give up.

He asked her at every meal time.

He asked her in between meal times.

He asked her at morning.

He asked her at night.

He asked her after getting up.

He asked her before going to sleep.

He even had the gall to try to ask her in the bathroom. Kiritsugu had to personally intervene at that point to prevent Maiya from murdering him with her bare hands. Not that it would have deterred him.

Finally, she had snapped and told him just to shut him up.

Spaghetti. She wanted eat spaghetti.

Shirou had then labored to learn it. And he didn't make it immediately. He kept doing it over and over. He tested it on Kiritsugu. He tested it on Taiga. He tested it on himself. He even tested it on his friend Matou Shinji, who had promptly spat it out. He took cooking classes briefly, despite the surprise of the woman in the community center. He referenced multiple cook books. He watched cooking programs. He went to stupid amount of lengths to learn to make spaghetti.

And then one night, he made it. He saw both Kiritsugu and Maiya look at the spaghetti for the longest time. Taiga inspected them while she gobbled down everything edible on the table. Shirou had felt nervous. How would she react.

Kirtsugu had made the first move as he picked up the fork. He dug in.

"It's good, Shirou." Kiritsugu said sounding surprised. He stole a glance at Maiya who seemed to be petrified. "It's good, Maiya." He said as if encouraging her to eat.

Slowly, Maiya reached for the fork. Slowly, she twirled it around the strands of spaghetti. Slowly, she raised the fork to her mouth.

Shirou had seen her break into tears. She hadn't shed them hysterically or loudly. Just a twin trail that went down her cheeks that had terrified the life out of both Shirou and Taiga. Nothing more than that.

"I like it." Was all she had said before stuffing herself with the spaghetti with a speed that far outstripped Taiga. As soon as she finished, she got up and practically ran over to her room and shut herself in, leaving Shirou and Taiga both confused and scared. Kiritsugu, on the other hand, was smiling.

"What on earth was that, Dad?" Shirou asked. Kiritsugu had pondered for a moment before answering.

"She was touched." He said shortly.

"By what, the taste? I admit, Kiritsugu-san, this wasn't so bad as compared to the other food Shirou had made but that doesn't mean she has to cry!" Taiga said in her usual loud manner. Kiritsugu shook his head, still smiling warmly.

"Not by the taste but by the care Shirou had shown." He said.

That was the beginning of the unbreakable bond between Hisau Maiya and Emiya Shirou. Hisau had rapidly progressed in showing emotion and both of them were soon each other confidants. The bond between them was like that of an older sister and younger brother despite the difference of more than ten years in between. Age did not matter in matters like this.

There was also the fact that Shirou soon found himself similar to Maiya in many regards. Both had lost the memories of their past in a horrific incident. Both had been rescued by Emiya Kiritsugu and later taken under his wing. Both regarded Kiritsugu with differing regards of worship. And both loved to enjoy the occasional well brewed cup of coffee.

"Here you go." Shirou said as he set down the plate in front of her. He then returned to the stove and started making breakfast. Maiya had always enjoyed western styled breakfast more than Japanese although her lunch and dinner were normal.

There was the sound of a door opening and closing. Maiya tensed. Shirou noticed the stiffening of her frame.

"Must be Sakura." Shirou guessed. Maiya nodded slowly.

"Good morning, senpai. Good morning to you too, Maiya-san." The purple haired girl said as she came in smiling shyly. Maiya's body relaxed. Shirou sometimes though that the effects the war had left were simply too deep. Maiya always stiffened at the sound of a door opening or some noise.

"How are you Sakura?" Shirou smiled. Maiya merely nodded back. The red haired boy and purple haired girl began to prepare breakfast together as the rays of the sun slowly made their way inside the kitchen through the window.

The door opened once more, although the sound was louder.

"SHIROU! BREAKFAST!" Taiga roared as she charged inside the kitchen.

"And a very good morning to you as well, Fujimura-sensei." Shirou dryly replied.

"Please wait in the dining room, sensei. We'll bring breakfast up shortly." Sakura said as she left the kitchen, carrying a bowl full of something leaving.

"YOU BETTER NOT FORGET THE NATTO!" Taiga gave her ultimatum before following Sakura out of the kitchen.

"She could have been a wrestler or a police woman. Perhaps even an Executor." Maiya sighed in a low voice as she finished her coffee in one large gulp.

"Please don't think of scary things like that. The thought of Fujimura-sensei working for the Church is too much for me." Shirou said as he shook his head in amusement. Fujimura Taiga already was thirty years old yet possessed the boundless energy and temperament of a toddler and the youthful beauty of a high schooler.

As compared to her, Hisau Maiya already felt slightly worn. Although it wasn't immediately apparent, the years weren't proving kind to her. She was a top class assassin who could snuff out a lit candle with a rifle shot.

She was also a woman who was currently feeling jealous of Fujimura Taiga and secretly afraid that she would steal Kiritsugu.

"I'm up." The black haired former mage yawned. Shirou and Maiya looked at the man who had saved their lives with a sort of adoring look present in their eyes. Ever since he had given up his life as a mage, Emiya Kiritsugu had decided to wear traditional Japanese clothing more often. He would wear it at almost every occasion except when he went to work as an accountant. Due to his deliberately ordinary looks and deliberately ordinary performance, no one saw him as an important person and just dismissed him as another accountant in the company. Just as Kiritsugu planned.

"Good morning dad!" Shirou chirped.

"Good morning, Kiritsugu." Maiya acknowledged.

Kiritsugu nodded to both of them and yawned once more before rubbing his eyes.

"Maiya, let's go for a ride." He said. Shirou and Maiya looked dumbfounded. Kiritsugu had been a reasonable individual nearly all his life. For him to say something so abrupt and brash was unsettling.

And then Maiya noticed that all the softness in his eyes was gone. She shuddered. The Magus Killer had reawakened from his eight years long sleep. Something was up that seriously threatened the Emiya family and Kiritsugu was determined to destroy it before it even laid its hands on everything he held dear.

"I'm up! Hey, onii-chan! What's for breakfast?" The people in the kitchen heard Ilyasviel's voice.

"Please Maiya, just a ten minute ride outside? I need some fresh air." Kiritsugu said in a pleading voice. Maiya stole a glance at Kiritsugu's white haired daughter and red haired adopted son before nodding and getting up.

"We'll be back in a while." Maiya said as she picked up the van's keys.

"Okay?" Shirou said in a perplexed voice. The two adults left and Shirou continued making breakfast.

Any other day, Shirou would have found Maiya's and Kiritsugu's behavior as mildly strange and perhaps even worthy of investigation. However, he was not in a mood to do so since all 27 of his magic circuits were buzzing slightly. It seemed like he had synchronized with some sort of entity that had appeared early in the morning. He had felt like asking his father but had refrained from doing so after seeing him desperate to go on a ride outside for whatever reason.

_Unlimited Blade Works_

Shirou shuddered as the phrase passed through his mind briefly and was immediately forgotten. It had happened this morning as well. The images of the dream were no longer in his mind but he could feel its impact on his soul. Whatever it was that Shirou had subconsciously synchronized with, it was powerful.

* * *

He opened his eyes slowly. This was definitely strange. He had been summoned by Rin once more but for some reason, he felt that he should have somehow caused a lot of destruction by his summoning. Yet here he stood, no collateral damage done and most definitely summoned by Rin.

There was also the sense of something connecting to an individual other than his Master spiritually.

"Well, it seems that I have been summoned by a talented Master." He noted. The chamber he had been summoned in was most certainly underground. The summoning circle that had been etched beneath him was a little smudged but had otherwise worked perfectly. The supply of prana he was already receiving was somewhat larger than he had expected but not by a large margin. His stats were, once again most unexpectedly, higher than he thought but not by much. Overall, he had been summoned by a capable Master that had boosted his stats mildly which in itself was an indicator of how formidable his Master truly was.

"Upon your summoning, I, Servant Archer, have come forth. I ask of you, are you my Master?" He intoned while he tried to hold back a chuckle. He did not know what part of his little on-the-spot speech struck him as funny. He could not remember who he was or what he was. All he could remember was his magecraft, his fighting style, his purpose for being summoned and some of the system behind the summoning.

Yet on the other hand, there were certain things that were lurking just beneath the surface of his memories that eluded him. It was because of these subconscious memories that he chuckled for some reason. He could try to catch them but it would be pointless it struggle. It would be much better for him to continue his role as a Servant and hope for the memories to return themselves. There was a reason why those objectives which were prioritized as first priorities got paid attention.

Archer frowned. His ability to let go of pointless things at the drop of a hat was something that he had learned from someone who was important to him during his life as an ordinary human.

"Oh? You are quite an interesting Servant of the Bow, Archer. To start with, where is your bow?" Someone cloaked in the shadows spoke in an amused tone. To anyone else, the mysterious figure would have been invisible because of the darkness. Archer, however, could see him perfectly. But what he could see was not a cure for sore eyes.

It was a man in a wheelchair with the right half of his face badly burned off. The right eye was blind and the right cheek hadn't healed properly, giving Archer a perfectly stomach tilting view of the man's teeth and tongue. With a certain amount of interest, Archer noticed that the man was missing two molars and a premolar, their jagged remains still present in his gums. The right ear was missing. The right half of his skull was completely bald although the baldness was only apparent to Archer because he could tell that the convincingly realistic wig the man wore wasn't real at all.

Any other man would have stepped back in revulsion of the sight he saw. Archer didn't, partly because he was a Hero and doing so would be an insult to all Heroes present in every point of time. The other reason was that as a Counter Guardian, Archer had seen much, much worse things in life than a man with third degree burns on his face.

"So, you are my Master? I don't feel any connection to you." Archer asked in a quiet tone. For some reason, he was sure that this couldn't be his Master but he shook that though out of his mind. No matter what the circumstances were, as a Servant, he was bound to serve whoever had summoned him whether it was a man in a wheelchair or some beautiful girl, although Archer doubted whether he would have enough luck to score such a girl as his Master.

"And one that seems to have no knowledge of magecraft. Servant, I cannot be your Master by virtue of the fact that I have no functional magical circuits left in my body. I would be a very poor Master to you." The wheel chaired man said as he tried to smile. His smile, most unfortunately, looked more like some failure movie villain's leer. Archer, on the other hand simply smiled passively.

"Father, don't say that. You were a wonderful Master in the previous War. If the Matou's hadn't cheated, you would have won as well. Don't belittle yourself." A girl's voice suddenly spoke up. A firm voice that seemed to bring up a hurricane of memories in Archer's mind. Memories that showed vividly and then disappeared before Archer could catch them.

A twin tailed and black haired girl.

A gigantic monster of some kind.

A deadly rain of gold.

A shadow of some sort that devoured anything that came in its path.

A heartless priest.

A red haired boy made of steel.

All these memories stirred up in Archer's mind and faded back before he could get a definite hold on them. All he knew now was that the girl who had spoken up was someone he must have known in his previous life and must have had a significant impact on it. But once again, he had no idea who she was.

"You flatter me, Rin." The man bound in the wheel chair said.

_Rin_

Once again, a storm brewed in Archer's mind but this time, he could catch a hold of many fragments of his memories. This girl was Tohsaka Rin and she was his Master. The reason why his stats were so impressive was because she was a tremendously talented genius of a mage who would later become the apprentice to…

…To someone important. She had a sister. Her sister was…

…someone who he couldn't recall. Rin knew him or at least the human version of him. In fact she was even in…

… she was somehow very emotionally attached to the human version of him. His name was…

…He had a name.

And it seemed that the man in the wheelchair was her father who was overlooking her summoning despite the fact that he was not a mage. Or perhaps he had lost all his circuits in some freak accident of some sort? The same freak accident that had rendered him looking like a cheap version of some comic villain and had condemned him to the wheel chair? But if that was so, why was he overlooking at all? Was it because he was much more experienced than her that was why?

"Judge his strengths and abilities, Rin. One must need to do that as soon as one summons his Servant." The elder Tohsaka instructed.

"You speak as if summoning a Heroic Spirit is an everyday occurrence." Archer dryly noted. Both Tohsakas looked at him with an annoyed gaze, Rin looking more furious while her father looking irritated.

"Now look here!" Rin began hotly but was cut off by her father.

"Perhaps it isn't such an ordinary event but the fact of te matter is that being prepared is never an incorrect move." He said. Archer nodded.

"Very well. What do you think?" He said as he spread his arms apart, as if he was some game show host.

"Just hold still, you worthless Servant." Rin muttered as she gazed at him for sometime before abruptly coming back to her senses.

"His stats aren't bad for an Archer. They even seem to be slightly higher than expected. Strength C+, Endurance C+, Agility C+, Mana D and Luck E+." Rin said in a grudging voice, as if she had really wanted to find fault in him but couldn't. "But I really wanted to summon Saber. It would have increased our chances in winning!" Rin said in a voice that sound more pleading instead of whining. The elder Tohsaka stroked his goatee.

"Well, it is true that nearly all previous Grail Wars were won by the Saber class. No wonder it is known as the most excellent of all classes. But remember, the previous War was won by the Matou who had summoned Berserker." He commented.

"That doesn't increase my chances of winning." Archer noted in an annoyed voice. For some reason, he thought that the elder Tohsaka's comment was directed at him rather than at Rin.

"No, it doesn't. It just serves as incentive for you to work harder." The older Tohsaka smiled, once again doing a perfect and unwitting imitation of a classic villain. Archer felt like groaning. He was already willing to give it his all for the sake of doing what he was summoned for. Now he felt like doing his best simply to prove his usefulness.

"Well, I am not much conversant with magecraft or the system that allows a miracle such as the summoning of a Heroic Spirit but what I do know is that you have gotten the best Servant possible." Archer said.

"Hmph, say that after you have defeated another Servant." Rin said.

"So, shall we go then?" Archer said, snatching up the opportunity. He was thankful that none of the Tohsakas ever thought of asking his name. He didn't remember and they wouldn't believe him and might even accuse him of lying. Rin stared at him.

"I have to go to school, idiot. Besides, one can't engage in warfare at daytime. It is against the rules of the Holy Grail War." Rin said as if this was the most obvious thing. Archer shared a look with her father.

"Sure, whatever you say." Archer shrugged. It wasn't like he was some blood thirsty maniac raring to fight someone. For some reason, Archer felt as if he should know of a blood thirsty maniac who was raring to fight someone.

"But take Archer with you in spiritual form. The participants of the War are sure to become active by evening." The elder Tohsaka added.

And thus, Archer and Rin went to school and would have spent a major part of the day uneventfully and have waited for nightfall.

But Archer had immediately felt a tingling sensation in the back of his head which grew the closer he came to school until it was a fully fledged sense of synchronization. It didn't impede or hinder his senses or other functions however what he was feeling seemed to distract him mildly.

And finally, it seemed to explode as an ordinary high school student came into view.

"How do you do, Emiya?" Rin politely asked.

"I am fine. How are you yourself, Tohsaka?" The red haired man named Emiya asked.

"I am fine. Thank you for asking." Rin said. The two students parted after having exchanged pointless pleasantries. Archer's head felt as if a thousand rampaging bulls from Pamplona, which he had no idea where it was, were dancing the can-can inside. Memories of every sort sprang up, whirled around as if teasing his inability to grasp them and then sank back to the recesses of his mind. Two things were immediately clear to him. Archer had managed to grasp them crucial memory and he had clung to them like a true Hero.

Archer's name was Emiya Shirou and Archer had to kill him. He had no idea on _why_ he should kill him however he was sure that the reason would become clear as he recovered much of his other memories.

"Who was he?" Archer asked. Since she was his Master, only she could hear his voice while in ethereal form. Rin tilted her head slightly as if considering all the reasons why Archer would ask such a question.

"No one in particular." Rin replied vaguely as she stared after the Emiya for some time. Archer was sure that she was lying for some reason. He decided to take a shot in the dark.

_My soul is tinged with madness._

"Is he your boyfriend?" He asked. This seeminglz innocent statement immediately provoked a reaction from his cute little Master.

"He is not!" She hotly replied. Archer merely smirked, glad that she couldn't see him smirking. The question had hit the bull's eye squarely.

It also meant that eliminating his former self would be one hell of a task since his Master would invent a hurricane of excuses simply to spare the boy. Rin certainly seemed like the type to do so although he had no memory of her personality. Archer briefly toyed with the thought of forming a dozen or so nameless swords and impaling Emiya with them. It would be quick, efficient and he could explain it away by saying that he was a mass murderer in his previous life. Which, Archer thought wryly, wouldn't be far from the truth considering the amount of killing a Hero had to do to finally ascend to the Throne.

_My core is twisted all the way._

The rest of Rin's day in high school was spent as normally as an ordinary high school student should spend it. She attended classes, she helped her friends in her homework, she tolerated the presence of a dozen or so admirers and rejected another dozen romantic overtures from boy's who looked out of their league. Archer briefly wondered whether Rin deliberately cultivated such a persona simply for this side of her life. He couldn't imagine doing it so himself since it would be too much of a hassle. Better to live honestly than to live your life as a lie.

"Finally the day is over." Rin said with a content sigh as she began to gather her things. Archer wasn't so thankful. It was all very well for Rin to anticipate the end of the day. She was just the Master. All she had to do was supply the prana and issue orders. He, on the other hand, was the Servant. He was supposed to risk his life fighting to the death for her sake at the drop of a hat.

Archer briefly wondered whether becoming a Hero was worth the effort. He couldn't understand why he would want to become one in the first place. He would rather…

…alright, so maybe he did not know what his own hobbies were but he was quite sure that he would prefer his hobbies over fighting some random maniac who had raked in a large enough kill score to be declared a Hero. Unless his hobby really was fighting some random maniac who had raked in a large enough kill score to be declared a Hero.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅"

The sound of growling made both Rin and Archer look up. Archer simultaneously noted that the school grounds were deserted. Not a soul was in sight. The school, in other words, would serve as an adequate battlefield for the Holy Grail War.

The one confronting them was a truly hideous beast that made the elder Tohsaka look like a fashion model. One of its eyes looked as if it was about to pop out of its socket while the other had shrunken back into its skull. Its hair stood up like spikes. Its mouth looked like as if someone had pulled it apart to make it smile and had needed up making the thing literally grin from ear to ear. The mouth was spread so wide open that Archer could see its gullet. Its legs were twisted backwards making Archer wonder how could it stand at all. One of its arms was incredibly muscular while the other looked as if it belonged to a starved famine victim.

But it was the spear that gave away the thing's identity.

Gae Bolg: The Piercing Spear of Impaling Death.

Archer knew, simply from looking at the Noble Phantasm, who its wielder was. He also knew what kind of a person its wielder was because the sight of such a weapon had once again pulled up memories that he could firmly grasp.

And now he knew for sure that his hobby wasn't fighting some random maniac who had raked in a large enough kill score to be declared a Hero.

* * *

From the shadows of the school building, Bazett Fraga McRemitz observed as two legends clashed together with a force that would have brought lesser men to their knees. These two, however, were Heroic Spirits and thus they simply shrugged off the blows. Although Bazett noted, with some pride, that the other Servant's Noble Phantasms had shattered upon contact. She felt a slight amount of pity for the Red Servant's Master. The Holy Grail War had barely started and it had been the very first battle between legends as far as she knew. And the other Servant had already lost his Noble Phantasm. The twin swords he had wielded suggested that he had been a Saber. His stats had barely helped him if he had already lost his Noble Phantasm.

And then, to Bazett's surprise, the other Servant, simply seemed to recreate the swords out of thin air and proceeded to clash with Berserker again. Not over yet, Bazett corrected herself. She shouldn't have expected things to go so easily after all. No matter how weak a Servant was, it was still a Heroic Spirit and Heroic Spirit did not die that easily.

Bazett felt tempted to cross the field in which the two Servants raged at each other. If she could take out the Master of the other Servant, she could end the first encounter with ease. However, she couldn't move for several reasons.

The first reason was that as a descendant of the Red Branch, she felt that killing the Master of the other Servant would be a crime of absolutely unparalleled degrees. A fight between legends should remain a fight between legends. She already felt guilty of forcing her childhood hero into the Berserker class just to get an edge over the other competitors. Any more interference now would be too low of her.

The second reason was that both Berserker and the other Servant seemed to be unconventional fighters. Berserker wasn't using his normal spear fighting method that was so renowned of him. He was twirling and jumping and hopping and spinning and rotating while all the while, his spear kept seeking out the enemy Servant. He hadn't activated his Noble Phantasm yet but given that Noble Phantasms were a Servant's trump card and that the Enhancement of Madness had robbed him of most of his senses, it was understandable that he hadn't used it yet. The other Servant fought with equally suicidal methods, his defense having gaps that would have let anyone slip through. Yet every time Berserker tried to take advantage of the fact, one of the swords the other Servant was carrying would intercept. Crossing the field which was occupied by such reckless legends wasn't just idiotic; it was downright stupid.

And finally, the truest reason why she wouldn't just kill the other master was because Berserker's Enhancement of Madness had put her under great stress and pain. Moving had been an effort and fighting would be an achievement. She supposed that she could surpass such pain by placing a few ruins on herself that would enhance her physically to the point where she would be able to move without undue pressure however to do so would mean to draw even more prana from her reserves. In simple terms, impossible.

The Red Servant was quite skilled in close combat yet Bazett could tell that he was trying to back away slowly. He was even succeeding to a degree because Berserker was losing his own skill to his own battle lust. He had started before with some degree of skill and agility remaining but now all he was doing was trying to stab his opponent without any grace or style. The only reason the Red Servant hadn't managed to kill Berserker yet was because Berserker was just too strong.

There was a flicker in the prana saturated air. Everyone felt it. Some other presence had somehow blundered into the area. Bazett felt like kicking herself. How could she have forgotten to erect a barrier around the battlefield to limit mundane causalities? The Clock Tower wouldn't mind those deaths as long as the world of thaumaturgy remained secret but Bazett did not enjoy taking innocent lives. Silently, she pleaded and hoped that it was simply an animal of some sort, nothing that would require murder.

That split second was all that was required for the Red Servant. With an astounding strength, he leaped backwards. He lifted his hands. The air shimmered and a bow appeared.

"My body…" the Red Servant, who was now most certainly Archer, spoke. Berserker raced forward attempting to cover the distance between them. Both Berserker and Bazett understood that Archer intended to finish the matter at once. Whoever Archer was, he was most certainly not the type who enjoyed combat. He seemed more of the type who fought for the sake of some ideal, not for the sake of enjoyment.

"…Is made of…" Archer continued. Berserker was nearly there. Bazett wondered whether to use a Command Spell. Would it be worth it? But she knew that by the time she started to invoke the power in her Command Spell, she would be too late. Either Archer would be skewered and they would win or Berserker would be shot and they would lose. If she had to use a Command Spell, she would have had to use it earlier.

"What the…?" Someone exclaimed. Bazett noted that Archer's attention had already been diverted before the mysterious stranger had exclaimed. He was now attempting to escape Berserker's spear's range while Berserker was now trying to kill Archer.

"Rho Aias!" Archer cried out in desperation, extending his hand outwards. Bazett felt her heart skip a beat as she realized that Archer had activated his Noble Phantasm first in desperation. A multicolored septa-petaled flower of some sort bloomed from Archer's hand. Berserker's thrust his spear at the Noble Phantasm.

And got thrown backwards.

Bazett inspected the flower. It was most definitely a shield of magnificent degrees but what Bazett was searching for were any cracks or flaws caused by Berserker's attack. She found none. Her heart sank as she realized that Berserker's attack had failed to even scratch Archer's shield. Granted, all Berserker had used was an ordinary, albeit extremely powerful thrust, but Bazett was hoping against hope that the shield would have been a weak one. She knew that only way to counter a Noble Phantasm was with a Noble Phantasm.

All of this had happened during the time in which the stranger had exclaimed. Now, it was time for Bazett to fix her mistake. Promising herself to give the unfortunate soul a relatively painless death for his mistake, she called out.

"Berserker, that's enough! Come back!"

The spear wielding Servant disappeared as he dematerialized. At the same time, Bazett felt as if a tremendous drain in her prana reserves seemingly plug up as she no longer needed to continue supplying Berserker. With an audible sigh of relief, she rose and went after the poor intruder whose luck had decided to run out on the very first day of the Holy Grail War. She could have told Berserker to do so but she felt it would be extremely impolite of her not to kill someone who was about to die due to a consequence of her own actions.

The intruder seemed like a red haired teenager who might have been a student of the very school Berserker and Archer ad been battling in. Perhaps he had forgotten something of importance inside the building. Perhaps he had some other work to do inside. Whatever was the matter, the thing was that he had blundered inside at the most inconvenient time and if Bazett had set up some barriers, this would not have happened. Bazett raised her fist, preparing to crush her target's head. The blow would be swift and because her target's brains would be splattered across the pavement, he wouldn't feel anything because of a distinct lack of a proper nervous system.

Only, she didn't account the fact that her punch could be dodged.

With a tremendous crash, Bazett's fist hit the club house the boy had been standing in front of. The entire front of the building was blown away. The roof started to cave in due to the lack of internal support which had been destroyed by Bazett. Bazett blinked, taking a moment to recollect her thoughts. She had been so caught up in her own self-blaming that she had completely forgotten something.

Humans can dodge.

Or in the case of her target, instinctively move out of the way of impeding harm. The red haired boy seemed just as surprised by his luck as she was by the sheer coincidence. She was sure that no normal human bar those with exceptional physical training could have dodged the blow. She had been too fast for him to do so. Yet the boy had proceeded to do just that and was now blinking stupidly, quite uncertain on what to do next.

A moment later, Bazett pulled out her fist from the rubble. And a split second later, the boy's survival instincts kicked in and he took off in a sprint. Bazett frowned. The boy was making things hard on both of them. Fortunately, she wasn't someone an ordinary human boy could escape that easily. As soon as her target sprinted off, she continued in hot pursuit. The sooner this was dealt with, the better.

And very soon, she grudgingly admitted the boy's physical prowess to herself. Granted, the small lead he had generated was becoming smaller and smaller by the second but the way the boy ran and the way he maintained the distance between then was commendable.

And then there was the fact that the boy's impressive physical prowess, heightened senses due to facing mortal peril, suicidal courage and plain blind luck had combined together to give forth some interesting results.

The very first obstacle the hunted and the hunter had confronted was a simple eight feet tall wall between an alley. Instead of attempting to climb it or traverse it, her target had displayed the mundanely impressive feat of performing a wall run, grabbing a jutting window ledge and using it to swing himself across the low wall.

Bazett simply jumped over.

And in the process ended up over shooting by nearly fifteen meters. The boy, instead of doing the instinctive thing and keep running in a straight line, had cleverly turned right and continued his sprint into the night. The distance between her target and her had increased from ten meters to twenty five. Bazett resumed running after him, mildly impressed.

The second obstacle the two of them came across was a dead end in another alley way. The wall that closed off any means of escape was over twenty feet tall and was by no means traversable by the boy in front of her. Once again, Bazett cocked her fist, ready to drive it through the head of her target. Instead of trying to look for a way to escape, her target stopped and faced her. He seemed to be a brave man, willing to look death squarely in the eye. Bazett punched forward, intending to end the pursuit.

And once again, the boy's sheer insane good fortune held through as he dodged at the last second. The wall may not have been traversable or climbable for the boy but for Bazett, it was quite weak. Her single blow had reduced the sturdy urban wall to flying shards of bricks, mortar and dust.

Coughing slightly, Bazett felt her appreciation for the boy rise once more. He was clearly willing to undertake insane amounts of risk. He reminded her very much of Kotomine Kirei, a friend whom she knew that lived in the same city. Both happened to be entirely reckless in undertaking challenges. But then again, perhaps this boy was willing to take such challenges because his only other option was death.

While she did appreciate the boy's physical power which were quite well developed for an ordinary student, she also felt a twinge of impatience. She knew that much of the Holy Grail War's damage was covered by the church. That man from the church was responsible for any damage done due to the Grail War. But Bazett briefly wondered whether her pursuit of a stray case counted as within limits of his responsibility. Ultimately, she knew that she would get harshly reprimanded for her incompetence and inadequacy.

The boy had slipped past her in the ensuing dust cloud. Bazett had to admire the sheer gall the boy had displayed. A normal man would have been, understandably, terrified of even coming close to someone who could blow apart buildings and punch apart walls with ease. The boy, on the other hand, had used her force against her and to his benefit. If Bazett wasn't required to kill him, the very first thing she would have done was adopt him into the Red Branch as her younger brother. Berserker would have gotten along quite well with the boy if he was sane.

But now the boy was coming within her range. She could catch him now. She reached out and tried to grasp his shirt. She missed the first time but scored on the second. With a strength only known to members of the Fraga Clan, Bazett caught her target and lifted him up. She looked into the eye's of her victim.

There was no fear, just pure acceptance.

Bazett felt slightly taken aback. Terror, hate, fear or even anger at being caught were normal reactions for her. Her targets ranged from heretic mages to dead apostles to those who were simply unfortunate enough to witness thaumaturgy. They had cursed her, they had pleaded for mercy they had even tried to bribe or reason their way out of her clutches. But she had never seen the acceptance of death in any one of her target's eyes.

"I forgive you." The boy said simply. These three words were enough to break her resolve momentarily.

The next moment, she was flying through the air, completely surprised at this unexpected turn of events. All she could see was the bent fender of a car, the equally surprised look of her target and the ground below.

Bazett crashed into a wall and then suddenly, all hell seemed to pour on top of her.

* * *

Emiya Kiritsugu could be called many names but in the eyes of the men and women who thought who knew him, he was anything but.

He had been called a ruthless murderer, a cold killing machine, a heretic, a humanoid abomination and much more colorful names. Many profiles on them existed but they seemed more like diatribes and accusatory pieces of literature against him rather than truly neutral reports based on observation. In his long stint as a Magus Killer, Emiya Kirtsugu had made more enemies than he could count. And he had killed an equally large number of them. In short, despite his meager education in magic and lack of concern about mystical politics, Emiya Kiritsugu was a deadly force to be reckoned with, one held with equal amount of fear as the Blue herself.

And yet if anyone told them that Emiya Kiritsugu was one of the most emotional, sentimental and caring men that had walked on the surface of the earth, they would have immediately called them a liar. A man who made such calculated strikes, who could defeat any enemy simply by virtue of being prepared enough to meet them and who was so evil that Hell itself spat him back out couldn't possibly be an emotional, sentimental and caring individual. The very concept was absurd.

Yet Emiya Kiritsugu was precisely what his opponents thought he wasn't. He was fully capable of being a loving father, caring husband and dependable friend, not to mention a reliable accountant. The one reason he was such a cold and ruthless killer was ironically because he wanted to rid the world of war and strife and fill it with peace. He had, most tragically, learned and accepted the bitter irony of the dream he wanted and had still pressed onwards because such a dream was the only thing he had left. He had made sacrifice upon sacrifice, throwing everything he treasured to the wind simply for the sake of something that couldn't be accomplished, for his love of humanity.

Simply put, in a world where Heroic Spirits and heroes were no longer born, Emiya Kiritsugu was the closest possible thing to a hero despite the crude ways he had adopted.

Finally, he had, after losing the Holy Grail War and his Servant to the Matou, done something that any normal hero could have done. He saved a child from all the death and destruction that had been caused by the wish Matou Zouken had made to the Holy Grail. In the midst of all the lives being snuffed out and their energy being harvested, Emiya Kiritsugu had come across the still struggling child and carried him to safety along with his assistant, Hisau Maiya. With desperation, he had imbedded the legendary sheath Avalon inside him.

The Sheath of the Legendary Sword of Promised Victory Excalibur, Avalon the Everdistant Utopia was utilized in the extremely mundane task of healing an ordinary human child. Not that Kiritsugu cared because to him, it didn't matter how majestic, legendary or powerful a tool was. All he cared about was the ability of the tool to function properly. And Avalon did function properly. When the boy had opened his eyes, Kiritsugu had unashamedly wept tears of joy, unwittingly terrifying Hisau Maiya to death. It did not matter what the Heroic Spirits would think, what the Faeries would think, what the Einzbern would think or even the Magus Association would think of his action of using a powerful and legendary artifact as a simple medical instrument. Emiya Kiritsugu had finally achieved his lifelong desire.

Emiya Kiritsugu was a hero.

And then after establishing himself with Shirou and Maiya, he had stock piled weapon upon weapon and planned meticulously. He would stay up with his assistant for nights at an end after making sure Shirou was asleep and plan extensively and thoroughly. Two years later, Emiya Kiritsugu and Hisau Maiya travelled to Germany and proceeded to unleash hell upon the Einzberns and rescued Ilyasviel von Einzbern. This was the last time the Magus Killer would ever be active.

Of course, the attack on the Einzbern castle hadn't been without repercussions. Kiritsugu could still feel a sharp pain in his right arm whenever the weather got cold. The effects of having fought a truly selfish battle for the first time in his life were truly painful. A battle that hadn't been waged while calculating the net total loss or the amount of damage that could be prevented from befalling on humanity. Such was a battle that Emiya Kiritsugu had waged on the Einzberns. They had magecraft, homunculi that were far superior to humans in physical prowess, the territorial advantage and the finances. Emiya Kiritsugu and Hisau Maiya merely had a lot of guns, explosives, rocket propelled grenades and the willingness to hit below the belt.

The two had returned to Fuyuki City and introduced Emiya Ilyasviel to Shirou and Taiga who had instantly formed an unbreakable friendship. Not much remained of the Einzberns except perhaps a few promising young heirs whose mind had been left in tatters and had escaped through blind luck.

And then had come the day when he had learned of something he had never thought he would hear.

"Maiya, let's go for a ride." He said as soon he saw the two after waking up in the morning. Shirou and Maiya looked dumbfounded. Kiritsugu had been a reasonable individual nearly all his life. For him to say something so abrupt and brash was unsettling.

And then Maiya seemed to notice the change in his posture. She shuddered. The Magus Killer had reawakened from his eight years long sleep. Something was up that seriously threatened the Emiya family and Kiritsugu was determined to destroy it before it even laid its hands on everything he held dear.

"I'm up! Hey, onii-chan! What's for breakfast?" The people in the kitchen heard Ilyasviel's voice.

"Please Maiya, just a ten minute ride outside? I need some fresh air." Kiritsugu said in a pleading voice. Maiya stole a glance at Kiritsugu's white haired daughter and red haired adopted son before nodding and getting up.

"We'll be back in a while." Maiya said as she picked up the van's keys.

"Okay?" Shirou said in a perplexed voice. The two adults left and stepped outside. Maiya brought the 1998 Honda Acty outside. Kiritsugu rode shotgun. Maiya looked at Kiritsugu briefly as if awaiting instructions.

"Take us to the river front." He told her. Maiya nodded and stepped on the accelerator. An hour later, they found themselves overlooking the Mion River. Several boats drifted past languidly. It was winter yet some people were still boating. Sparrows and other birds warbled and sang in the background. A cold breeze blew inside the van. Maiya didn't roll up the window.

"Remember when I first saw you?" Kiritsugu started to attempt a conversation weakly. Maiya frowned. There was something seriously the matter with Kiritsugu.

"No." She flatly stated. Kiritsugu chuckled.

"Me neither. I have been through too many battlefields." He stated. Maiya waited. There was something on Kiritsugu's chest and he desperately wanted to get it off.

"I heard somewhere that every soldier earns his rest at some point or other. There isn't a single soldier that hadn't got what he deserved by the end of the day." Kiritsugu started to speak again.

"That's a lie. If that was the case, many men would have died content. It is simply the way of the world for no person's battle to be complete." Maiya said brusquely.

"True. How true." Kiritsugu chuckled once more. And then to Maiya's horror, tears began to roll out of his eyes.

"WHY IS IT TRUE? WHY!" The grown man screamed, his tears flowing out fully. Several pedestrians looked startled at his sudden screaming. Maiya was completely taken aback. The last time she had seen Kiritsugu shed tears was when he had rescued Shirou from Zouken's curse that had sucked the life out of all living organisms within effect of the Holy Grail. But at that time, those had been tears of joy. Maiya had been able to watch Kiritsugu without feeling overly alarmed after the initial shock. Now, he had completely lost his mind.

"IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Kiritsugu screamed and then started sobbing, letting his cheeks get stained with his tears. Maiya sat in the driver's seat, terrified for life and completely at a loss on what to do. Kiritsugu cried for nearly two hours. Every time he felt his heart steady, a fresh bout of pain erupted in his chest and he collapsed into tears again. Finally, when he had calmed down enough, Maiya hesitantly asked a question.

"What happened?"

"Last night," Kiritsugu croaked. "Ilya talked to me. She told me that the Einzbern had made her the next Holy Grail and that they had made several changes in her body. She only has a year left to live." He said before finally succumbing to another wave of grief.

Faced with such a difficult scenario, Maiya did the only thing she could think of. She drove away from the river and through the city. She decided to explore every nook and cranny of it until Kiritsugu regained some of his emotional stability.

Although Maiya herself was dangerously close to shedding tears as well.

It was late in the evening when Kiritsugu had finally regained his emotional balance.

"Head back." He ordered. Maiya looked at him warily.

"Kiritsugu, are you sure?" She asked quizzically. The broken shell of a man named Emiya Kiritsugu nodded bravely.

"I have to go back. Ilya is waiting." He said sadly but without shedding a single tear.

"What are you going to do now?" Maiya asked. She was conscious of her own tear stained cheeks.

"I am going to quit my job. It was merely a cover anyways. I am going to make very one of Ilya's days wonderful. And I am never going to cry in front of her again." Kiritsugu said firmly. Maiya nodded, her resolve steeled as well.

"Head to Homurahara High School first. I think we should pick up Shirou. It's about time for him to leave as well." Kiritsugu had ordered part of the way. Maiya obediently directed the car down the correct road and very soon they were headed towards the correct path.

Both of them felt it first and witnesses it shortly afterwards. The air surrounding the school was packed with prana. It wasn't the ambient natural mana but was in fact the resultant accumulation of some high ritual being performed by some mage.

Or two Servants clashing together.

Kiritsugu couldn't help but stare. He was very sure that the Holy Grail War happened once every sixty years. Yet here he was witnessing two legends of Root knows when and where dueling.

The duel abruptly ended. Kiritsugu scanned the battlefield, looking for the cause of the fight stopping. And found it.

"SHIROU!" Kiritsugu cried out in alarm. He ripped open the glove compartment and fished inside, his eyes looking at his adopted son. He was sure that he would just witness the cruelest thing a man could see. He pulled out the hidden Glock from the glove compartment and attempted to jump out of the van.

And then simply froze in astonishment. One of the Masters had apparently taken it up on herself to kill Shirou and had moved in to eliminate her target.

And missed. Shirou had side stepped her attack and a split second later, the woman's fist had blown away one of the club houses. Kiritsugu made a mental note to remain at a distance from her. Her advantage at close combat was enormous.

Shirou had then sprinted away in earnest with the pink haired magus in hot pursuit. Maiya wordlessly started up the van and in a few moments, they were following both.

And very soon, they found what had been inevitable. The magus, who was evidently an Enforcer, was holding Shirou up with her left hand was preparing to deliver the finishing blow with her right. For some reason, she was hesitating.

Gone was all the softness, kindness and empathy for human life from Emiya Kiritsugu. Gone was the new found joy in peace from Hisau Maiya. Or one could say it had flared u to epic proportions. Right now, both of them only wanted one thing. The safety of Emiya Shirou.

"Step on it." Kiritsugu coldly said. Maiya obeyed and in a brief instant, she willingly performed two crimes at once. She crossed the speed limit of thirty miles an hour, reaching nearly ninety in a short instant.

She then hit the Enforcer directly in front. The Enforcer was sent flying into a wall. Shirou had simply been knocked out of the woman's grasp and had fallen to the road, stunned.

It was a force of habit of the pair of them. There were grenades hidden inside various parts of the van. Kiritsugu jumped outside and threw all four of them in quick succession while Maiya ran over to Shirou and picked him up. She trotted over to the Acty and practically threw him inside. Kiritsugu merely did not hesitate at only using grenades. He emptied the entire Glock's clip just for good measure.

The two of them quickly got inside the van and drive away at high speed. Maiya and Kiritsugu shared glances. Things had, most surprisingly, taken a turn for the worst on such short notice.

"It has started somehow." Kiritsugu observed. Maiya nodded grimly as she drove on, while the police scrambled to the area of the incident. She was careful to observe the traffic rules lest they were arrested for the pettiest of reasons.

The Holy Grail War of Fuyuki City had started.

_**Phew, it was hard work putting together this chapter. Please reward me with hundreds of reviews. This side project of mine is connected to the Novumverse, that is to say, one of the characters in this fic shall come in the Priest of Zero. Since this is simply a side project, it will not be updated regularly. That is all. Leo Novum out.**_


	2. The Burden of Magi

_**Chapter Two: The Burdens of Magi**_

The van was a 1998 Honda Acty which was currently going at a speed that might make policemen watch it in case it went over the limit. It was also crammed with such an astonishing amount of weapons that even a non magus would assume that some form of sorcery was employed. The van happened to be perfectly ordinary albeit rather stuffed with an unreasonable amount of guns, explosives and bullets. The simple fact of the matter was that van had weapons hidden strategically in places that most people wouldn't assume to search. Unless it was gone over by an expert team of custom officials, no one would actually find the weapons. And if the custom officials did find the weapons, two people inside the van were perfectly capable of hypnotizing them into forgetting the entire event and making them obey their commands.

The driver of the van, Hisau Maiya, briefly glanced into the rear view mirror. Instead of being surprised or terrified at seeing a well dressed leaping from the roof tops in their pursuit, she merely frowned as if she had seen Taiga fallen asleep in her lap again. As if their pursuing target was merely being a nuisance instead of being a threat.

"Target hasn't been neutralized." She said coldly. Kiritsugu nodded. He somehow climbed over the gearbox and squeezed himself through the gap between the front seats. He then proceeded to reach into seemingly inaccessible places inside the van and finally, after having gathered all the components, began to assemble the rifle. Maiya noted Kiritsugu's actions and steered the van into a more deserted part of town, towards the warehouse district.

Within three minutes, he had put together the weapon and had loaded it. Now, they had to go to the designated area.

The pursuit continued until they reached the very same area where all the Servants of the previous Grail War had met, save for Caster. The wire fence did not prove to be much of a resistance. The two security guards that had just stood there flabbergasted and at a loss on what to do were knocked out, in an extremely strange manner, by the arriving Enforcer.

Kiritsugu frowned. "She is quite unsubtle. Lifting them from the neck and then hypnotizing them? She is too used to the world of magi and doesn't know how to operate in urban environments." He whispered.

"The bruises formed by grabbing their chins and necks will be hard to explain away." Maiya agreed as she stopped the van after hiding behind the freight containers.

"And might even lead to the Magi Association dubbing them as necessary to dispose if the matter got out of hand." Kiritsugu ended. Maiya soundlessly nodded as she searched around for the button while Kiritsugu kept an eye on the Enforcer while training his rifle sight on her. She was walking into the clearing cautiously. Kiritsugu frowned as he noticed that many symbols decorated the woman's suit and body. There was even one on each cheek and on the center of her forehead.

The former Magus Killer realized that the Enforcer had inscribed runes all over her body to gain an advantage over her targets. To have inscribed this many on herself while she was running at nearly seventy miles an hour was a feat unto to itself. She had been formidable without this extra edge she now had. It was imperative for him to do something now because after this chance, they would have no chance in doing anything else.

"Found it." Maiy quietly said. Kiritsugu nodded. Even if both he and Maiya had given up their ways, that didn't mean that they had forgotten where they had left all their gear and other supplies.

"When I give the signal, go ahead." Kiritsugu whispered. He didn't need to look backwards to see Maiya nodding in affirmative. He knew that she did. They both knew what to do. This location was similar to nearly fifty more rigged locations all over Fuyuki which had been prepared by Kiritsugu over the years in case some of the older and more stuck up families from the Magus association decided to come to Fuyuki to exact revenge. Even after retiring, paranoia hadn't let go of the Magus Killer.

The Enforcer was frowning and muttering to someone. Kiritsugu couldn't make out the words because he was too far away. It wouldn't have made any difference if he could have somehow see here since he couldn't read lips. There was no one in sight and Kiritsugu doubted that she would use mundane technology to contact someone. Thaumaturgical devices for long distance communication was also ruled out since Kiritsugu knew how bulky and inconvenient that equipment could be. That left only one possibility.

The Enforcer was being accompanied by her Servant who was currently in spiritual form.

Kiritsugu cursed silently. He wondered whether to drop the entire impromptu operation he had prepared and try to escape. He knew that he was no match for a Servant. Any scenario he prepared was potentially useless against Heroic Spirits like them simply because they were stronger, faster, more agile and much greater mysteries than humans. Kiritsugu didn't know anyone who could even hope to hinder something like them. The three of them now were effectively cornered.

There was a possibility.

Avalon was still inside Shirou. He could once again summon the King of Knights. The playing field would become level once more. No, it would become more than that. A powerful Servant like that would even win them the Holy Grail War.

Kiritsugu shook his head slightly. What was he thinking? Force his own adopted son into something Kiritsugu threw away himself? He would rather die! He remembered the last day of the Fourth Holy Grail War. The Grail had materialized, sure enough. But as soon as it had materialized, someone had asked for a wish and had it granted to them. At the cost of all the lives in the vicinity suddenly drying up. Kiritsugu had raced to the area and had seen, to his everlasting horror, what destruction the Grail had wrought.

The sky had been tinged red. People had collapsed on the spot and had started shriveling up. It had seemed that somehow, the Grail was converting them into mana and dissolving them. As if killing the Servants hadn't been enough. Kiritsugu remembered finding a single boy, barely alive but still living, looking at him with eyes filled with dull pain.

Kiritsugu shook his head once more. No use reliving past memories.

"Maiya, once I give you the signal, press the button and escape with Shirou." Kiritsugu instructed. There was a silent pause.

"No." Maiya firmly answered.

For the first time in many years, Kiritsugu received a shock large enough to temporarily freeze his thinking process.

She had said no.

She had refused a command. The perfect tool had refused a command.

Kiritsugu knew that Maiya had become more emotional and humane thanks to Shirou's determined efforts. It was one of the many blessings Shirou had brought into the Emiya household.

And now it had humanized Maiya enough to make her refuse. She would most probably insist on either staying with him or waste time in trying to convince him to use a better method.

Any other day, Kiritsugu might have seen her refusing a command like this as another step of positive improvement. Right now though, it spelled certain death.

"Maiya, I need to stay here to distract the Enforcer and her Servant." Kiritusgu said in a cold voice.

"I will not leave your side. There must be a better method." Maiya said.

"Maiya, we cannot afford to waste time in trying to implement another plan. If we do waste time, the Enforcer will find us and kill us all. Do you understand? Now leave when I signal you." Kiritsugu said harshly.

There was another cold silence. The Enforcer was looking around the area but was thankfully still within range.

"Kiritsugu, I-" Maiya said in a small voice. She couldn't go any further but Kiritsugu understood. It was never easy making a sacrifice. There was a reason why professionals trained for situations like this. Emotion tended to botch up plans. All the training Kiritsugu had spent on Maiya in repressing her emotions had been undone now and Maiya was dangerously close to collapsing in tears. Only the faintest shreds of self control were holding her together.

And then the Enforcer managed to spot Kiritsugu from that distance.

"MAIYA! NOW!" Kiritsugu roared. It was as if his voice had acted like an absolute command of some sort. Maiya pressed the button.

The area the Enforcer stood in lit up. Kiritsugu reinforced his eyes to avoid blinding himself. He heard Maiya slam the door, start the van and drive away. He saw the enforcer emerge from the inferno, completely unscathed except for burning hair.

Except that Kiritsugu had a feeling that the C-4 would be ineffective in killing her and had used it for something else. It would only serve to prevent her from hearing the rifle fire and leave her disoriented enough for her reflexes to be hampered. In short, the only reason he had detonated the plastic explosives was to get the chance for a good head shot because it was apparent that her clothes were bulletproof or at least quite resistant. And even now, he knew that the chances of the bullet successfully killing her were low, which was why he had a back up plan.

Kiritsugu fired. The bullet exited the muzzle with a speed of 975 meters per second, crossed the narrow distance between the containers and was deflected by a blood red spear wielded by grotesque abomination.

Kiritsugu felt as if his breath had been snatched away. The thing had done something that was beyond human capabilities. Which could only mean that it was the Enforcer's Servant.

Still, it wasn't as if Kiritsugu hadn't expected this scenario either. He knew his limits as a spellcaster and that was why he made sure to have several backup plans and rigged locations in case of situations like these. What was to come, however, was something that depended more on luck than anything else. But it was necessary for Kiritsugu to do so since he had no other choice. He had to buy time for Maiya and Shirou. The former Magus Killer got up, throwing away his rifle in the process. He raced towards the Enforcer.

He had seen, as soon as the Servant had appeared, her collapse. Seeing how terrible her Servant looked like, it meant that her Servant was possibly a Berserker. Considering that these Servants proved to be the greatest drains on their Masters, Kiritsugu inferred that Berserker left her Master completely unable to move due to the sheer amount of energy he drew from her.

And it was the Enforcer's lack of mobilty upon whic rested the plan.

When the distance between Kiritsugu and Berserker remained less than twenty meters, Kiritsugu offered one final prayer to every god he believed in. And then spoke.

"Time Alter: Square Accel!" He intoned.

His vision narrowed. His muscles accelerated. His heart beat sped up. His breathing rate increased. The rate at which the world reacted to him slowed down. Kiritsugu dashed towards the enforcer. He needed to kill her. Every fiber of his being protested at the agony he was being put through. And yet he continued for the sake of his family.

Kiritsugu side stepped the incoming Servant with great difficulty. He felt a bolt of pain emerge from his left ankle. It seemed that the strain had made him tear a tendon somewhere down there. He continued running, even though it could no longer be called running and more correctly be called hobbling at high speed.

And then he stopped, all momentum gone. It felt as if all the blood in his body was struggling to escape while he felt a dull sensation in his stomach. The internal time in his body returned to normal as Kiritsugu looked downwards. The tip and shaft of the Servant's spear were impaled through his abdomen. All that planning had been for nothing. Kiritsugu felt like laughing for some absurd reason. He himself had known that no human had the chance of going up against a Servant yet h had tried to dodge one. Even the slowest Servants had vastly superior physical properties as compared to a human.

The Servant yanked out his weapon. Kiritsugu felt the jerk but his pain had been dulled by the still rushing adrenaline. However, he could tell that he had suffered from a terrible wound. There was no way modern medicine could patch him up. The hole in his abdomen was nearly an inch in diameter.

Kiritsugu fell to his knees as the blood loss started to weaken him. The pain was now wracking his entire frame. He only didn't scream out in agony because his jaws wouldn't even move. All he could do was look at the enforcer approach him.

Just before he blacked out, a second explosion occurred and lifted off Kiritsugu.

* * *

Ilya scanned the battlefield with narrow eyes. Her mother had once commented that she had her father's eyes. To a normal observer, this was an absolutely absurd comment. Emiya Illyasviel had scarlet eyes like a regular homunculus. They did not resemble her human father's eyes at all. But those who knew her or those who were adept at reading people would realize that the statement was true. Both father and daughter's eyes betrayed their emotion rather easily. One could judge their sentiments simply from looking t their eyes.

And right now, Ilya knew that she looked furious. Sitting eight feet above the ground, she coldly looked at the red haired woman whose Servant had made the mistake of hurting her father.

"You have five seconds to explain yourself. Depending on your answer, I might kill you quickly or slowly. Why have you hurt my father?" Ilya said coldly.

The woman's Servant, Berserker regarded her with insane eyes.

"He… attacked me… first… prevented me… from… doing my duty." The red haired Enforcer gasped. She was down on one knee and was breathing rather haltingly. It seemed as if she was in great pain. Her entire frame was covered in futhark runes meaning that she was probably of Irish or Scandinavian descent.

"And what was your duty?" Ilya asked coldly. Even the way she killed her emotions when she interrogated the elder woman was very much like her father.

"I… needed… to… neutralize… the boy." She said. Ilya noted that Berserker was trying to inch towards his mistress but he paid him no heed. The words the woman had said had managed to chill her bones even though Fuyuki wasn't as cold as Germany.

"Which boy?" Ilya said in barely a whisper.

"The… red… haired… " was all she said before Ilya lost her temper.

"KILL HER LANCER!" She screamed in rage.

"▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅▅▅" Berserker voiceless roar rang through the sclearing between the containers, as his spear met Lancer's spike.

And to Ilya's horror and amazement, the mad Servant actually managed to push her and Lancer back.

"I'll say this much, Lady Ilya, we are facing an extraordinary opponent." Lancer said seriously.

"You don't say? I thought that pushing back the incredible Herakles was just a minor accomplishment." Ilya dryly noted, her rage still present but most of her edge gone after seeing Berserker push Lancer back.

It was a pity that Lancer came without a proper Noble Phantasm except his lives and his skill. She had to fashion the enchanted slab of his tomb to make it into a ten foot long spike of some sort. Lancer had assured her that the spike would function well enough for him but Ilya felt frustrated. She had hoped to summon him as an Archer but apparently Archer had already been summoned. She had to settle for a Lancer.

As soon as her father had gone for a drive, Ilya had felt a Servant and realized that the Grail War had started. She had rushed to the back of the house and opened the shed Shirou used as his workshop. She had then proceeded to summon Herakles, the Strongest Human of all times, as Lancer. The slab of rock had been brought to Germany when Kiritsugu had rescued her from the Einzberns. She had pleaded him to do so and Kiritsugu had given in, not knowing what he had actually smuggled to Japan. Ilya had felt bad lying to him but it was something necessary.

She and Lancer had finally moved out of the house when she had heard the explosion. Lancer, being the swiftest Servant, had covered the distance in a matter of minutes.

And yet she had only been fast enough to witness Berserker stab her father in the back. How she had maintained to keep her composure was beyond even her. Perhaps she had subconsciously known that if the two Servants were to rampage around, her father's body would get crushed.

"Lancer, can you pick up my father's body without letting me come to harm?" Ilya asked seriously. Instead of answering, Lancer rushed forward. His stab at Berserker's chest with his spike was parried by Berserker's spear. The two titans of strength remained locked in combat for a moment. Ilya fancied that she could hear the muscles of the two Servants straining.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅"

It was not a roar of battle lust but that of angry surprise. Lancer had finally lived up to his name of being the strongest man in history as he sent Berserker flying. The stone spike, Ilya noted with great pride, hadn't even chipped. Perhaps it would suffice through the War after all.

With a swift hand motion, Lancer picked up the unconscious form of Emiya Kiritsugu. Without even bothering to look back, Lancer sprinted across the warehouse area and jumped onto the rooftops. Despite his enormous size and powerful footsteps, the Greek giant managed to traverse the roofs silently and without damaging any property.

"He is following us, Ilya." Lancer said in a worried tone. Ilya barely glanced backwards.

"Lancer, what would you suggest?" She asked. There was a pause.

"To finish him in one stroke." He said. They had now left the more modern parts of Fuyuki and were now in the relatively old fashioned suburbs. Ilya remained silent for a split second.

"Finish him." She said. Lancer landed, deposited his mistress and her father and turned to face the approaching Berserker.

The Greek Hero broke into a run. He drew his arm back. Berserker readied himself as his grip on his demonic red spear tightened. The distance between the two reduced. Ilya watched her Servant from the distance, confident that he would be the victor.

And then Lancer's head exploded as a flying projectile hit him. The event was so sudden that even Berserker stopped and just stupidly looked at the stump that used to be Lancer's head. The Mad Servant let his Master go and she managed to stand up somehow.

"How?" The Enforcer said, as confused as her Servant. But the real scare was yet to come.

The entire frame of the seemingly dead Lancer quivered before his head magically grew back. The surprised and rightfully angry hero opened his yellow eyes.

And noticed that Berserker had completely ignored him and was heading towards Ilya instead.

"Coward! Come back and fight like a Hero!" Lancer roared. His roar actually made the Enforcer drop to her knees. Berserker, however, paid no heed and continued his sprint. Ilya felt death approach.

She was saved by nearly fifty projectiles being fired at Berserker in quick succession. Berserker was forced to stop and and deflect all of them. The deflected weapons crashed into the surrounding area. Some were destroyed by Berserker's spear, come crashed into the walls and shattered while some managed to sink into the ground or walls. Lancer noted that all the fired projectiles were actually swords.

"That's enough, Hound of Chullain. You are forgetting your own code of chivalry." Someone spoke in a deep voice. Lancer and Berserker looked in the direction from where the sound originated and saw a Servant in a red coat and wielding a bow. A sword was still nocked in the bow and was aimed at them. Lancer felt puzzled. He was sure that the projectile that had just killed him the first time had been fired by him; he could tell from instinct. Then why was he suddenly helping him? Did Archer have a code of honor as well?

Furthermore, Lancer himself was in a perilous state. Servants of the Archer class may be known for many things but stupidity wasn't one of them. For a Servant of the Bow to meet them, Servants whose specialty was melee combat, could only mean that he had enough tricks up his sleeve to be confident in matching them. This was a stalemate. Lancer could very well go after Berserker and hope that he would be faster than Archer's arrow-swords. Or he could hurl his spike at Archer and then kill Berserker with his bare hands. Or he could even retreat and sacrifice a few of his remaining eleven lives while he tried to save Ilya and her father.

The solution was presented by Berserker of all people who rushed at Archer, running on all fours this time. Lancer immediately dashed towards Ilya and her father, picked both of them up and dashed towards the Emiya residence. He approached the wall, leaped over it and landed just as an explosion rocked the entire ground. Lancer briefly wondered which of them had died. He had bets on Berserker since his intuition told him that Archer wasn't a Hero to be taken lightly at all.

"Maiya nee-san!" Ilya called out. The elder woman had fallen to her knees in surprise at the sight of Lancer. Even now she was struggling to get up. "We need medical assistance! Quickly!"

Maiya nodded and trotted inside the Emiya house.

"Lancer, bring Daddy to the workshop." Ilya said as she ran inside her house. Lancer effortlessly lifted the sagging frame of Emiya Kiritsugu and took the man to the spacious shed that had been used in his summoning. Seconds later, Ilya and Maiya came. Maiya opened the first aid kit and began to bandage Kiritsugu. Ilya noted that her father's face was already looking quite pale and his breathing had slowed down to an alarming degree.

And then he suddenly opened his eyes.

"Maiya!" He whispered.

"I am here. Hush and stay silent, Kiritsugu. You are going to be okay." Maiya said in a reassuring tone. But Ilya could already see her tears.

"Keep… Shirou… safe." He gasped. Maiya perked up.

"Shirou! Of course! Avalon!" She said. She turned to Ilya. "Apply pressure here. I am going to get Shirou." She instructed, showing the white haired girl exactly where to press and then leaving her. Ilya pressed down, trying hard to similarly restrain her tears. If she could have been a second earlier, none of this would have come to pass.

There was the sound of the door sliding open and Ilya briefly stopped pressing down to look behind. Shirou and Maiya walked towards them. Maiya looked specially perturbed and Shirou looked as if he was in awe at the sight of Lancer.

"Shirou we need to extract Avalon from you." Maiya said bluntly.

"What?" He said, still looking amazed by Lancer's mere presence. Maiya didn't wait for him to regain his wits. She plunged her right hand into Shirou's abdomen, her hand charged with prana. Just like how Kiritsugu had once shown him just in case the situation demanded. Her hand seemingly sank into Shirou's body with golden light enveloping her forearm.

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅"

Everyone turned to face Berserker, who had leaped over the wall and was advancing slowly and apprehensively.

"This madman's insanity truly knows no bounds. His master must be touched in the head." Lancer rumbled before rushing forward to intercept.

Instead of bracing himself and blocking Lancer's stone spike, Berserker nimbly leaped aside and sprinted towards Maiya and Shirou. As quickly as Berserker had dodged, Lancer reversed his direction as well and ran after the mad warrior. The problem was that Berserker was slightly faster than him and Lancer could only bring him down if he hurled his spike at him in the back. He didn't because he knew that Berserker would instinctively dodge and his spike might hit some of his mistress's acquaintances.

The shed suddenly lit up and Berserker found himself blocking something with his spear. He had been attacked by a mysterious blond woman who was wielding empty air or something that was concealed by empty air. Berserker retreated a few steps and looked back to see Lancer also ready to attack. Making the surprisingly accurate choice, Berserker for once acted correctly and ran away.

The mysterious woman looked at Lancer and gave him a hard stare. Lancer responded by glaring back equally coldly. It was true that this woman had driven Berserker away but that did not mean that she was an ally. For all Lancer knew, she could have had a hostile objective that required her to drive Berserker away.

And then, to the Greek giant's surprise, she fearlessly turned her back to him and walked over to Emiya Shirou. The red headed youth had sat down in surprise at some point and was now looking at the woman with even greater awe.

"Servant Saber, upon your summoning, I have come forth. I ask of you; are you my Master?" She said in a grave voice. Even Lancer felt impressed. He had been in the presence of many kings and other royalty but this woman spoke with a dignity and grace that he had only seen in Hero Kings.

"What?" The red headed youth sad stupidly, completely overwhelmed by the presence of two Heroic Spirits.

"Servant Saber, upon your-" Saber repeated but was interrupted by Emiya Kiritsugu's revival. The black haired man got up, looking in completely healthy and none the worse for wear.

And angry as well.

"Saber." He said calmly. Lancer felt intrigued. The manner in which he spoke suggested that he was acquainted with this particular Hero. But it was quite unthinkable for enmity to exist between a Heroic Spirit and a human. For a human to even induce bad blood between himself and a Hero was suicide, depending on the amount of patience the Hero had.

"This is the fourth time you addressed me directly and the first time you did so without using a Command Spell. I feel honored." Saber said in a sarcastic voice. Lancer found himself chuckling. A Hero feeling honored by a mere human? The idea was as hilarious as it was absurd and it made Lancer want to discover more about the relationship between Kiritsugu and Saber. Ilya had, during the time they had waited for night to fall, regaled him with stories about her father's brave exploits. Lancer had listened, amused by his little mistress's enthusiasm. Compared to his adventures or the adventures of some other heroes he had known, Emiya Kiritsugu's exploits looked pathetic. But Lancer had said nothing and merely filled himself with knowledge about this man.

And now he had proved to be something after all. For someone of this era to risk the wrath of a Hero, his own Servant or not, was a feat of extreme bravery or folly. Lancer wished to know which.

"Excuse me, but may I know what is going on?" Shirou asked in a loud voice. Everyone present looked at everyone else. Kiritsugu sighed and got up.

"Everyone inside." He said in a cold voice.

* * *

Emiya Shirou was a boy who saw the best in everyone. He fully believed that all people were capable of being great. His father was a living example of greatness personified.

And right now, everything seemed wrong. They were all sitting inside the dining room. Lancer had somehow managed to squeeze inside the house and not break a single object as well. Currently he, Ilya, his Dad, Maiya and the mysterious woman named Saber were sitting inside the dining room and were seated around the table. Lancer had opted to sit in the corridor and had kept the sliding door open. Shirou could see that if he had chosen to enter, some things would have been damaged.

"So, Saber, why are you here?" Kiritsugu asked flatly. There was a moment of silence as Saber stared back at him.

"Perhaps you haven't been paying attention, Kiritsugu, but the Holy Grail War has started. I have been summoned by my Master under the name of Saber." The blond woman answered.

"I am aware of that. And I would like you to know that you just undid ten years of effort spent to keep him away from harm." Kiritsugu coldly replied.

"Dad, but-!" Shirou tried to protest but he was silenced in mid speech by a glare from his father. Now was not the time.

"How hypocritical of you. Your daughter is Lancer's Master and yet you do not tell her to stay out of the war." Saber said.

"What Ilya wants to do is something up to her. I will allow her to do as she pleases but Shirou will stay safe." Kiritsugu replied. Shirou looked at his father oddly. His reasoning was, for once, completely illogical. It really was hypocritical of him to keep Shirou away while Ilya was allowed free reign. Not that Shirou minded Ilya being allowed to do as she pleased but Kiritsugu's words were confusing him. There had to be a reason and Shirou couldn't put his finger on it.

Saber looked at Kiritsugu critically. The former Magus Killer refused to wither under her gaze and returned her gaze with an equally cold one.

"What do you intend to do then, Emiya Kiritsugu? Do enlighten me." She finally said.

"Shirou, relinquish control of your Command Spells to me." Kiritsugu said. The reaction immediately generated a response from Saber.

"How dare you say that! I did not intentionally undo your plans! And you are acting too unreasonably! Relinquish control over me? I have never seen a greater monster than you, Emiya Kiritsugu! Only my promise to Irisviel stays my blade from you! If it wasn't for that, I would have separated your head from your body, whether you were or were not my current Master's father!" The proud woman yelled, slamming her fists on the table. Said table was now in pieces; not that anyone was paying attention to it anymore.

"Acting unreasonably? I simply desire to keep my son away from harm and ensure his well being! Every parent wishes to keep his child happy and there is nothing strange about it! Not that you would understand, Arturia Pendragon!" Emiya Kiritsugu snarled. Saber felt as if Kiritsugu had struck a dagger in her heart. There was no mistake in the tone which Kiritsugu used. She was painfully reminded of her past.

Men lay dying on the ground. Swords and spears decorated the land. Two men still remained alive on the battlefield of Camlann although both were on their last legs.

The image only briefly flashed in front of her eyes but was enough to mentally stun her.

"Dad. I am not going to relinquish." Shirou spoke, surprising everyone in the room.

"But, Shirou! Why?" Kiritsugu said. Shirou saw, to his further confusion, that Kiritsugu's stern face melted into one of sorrow. Shirou felt a pang of incredible guilt as he realized how badly he had hurt his own father. But he still pressed on, the other weight of guilt still resting heavily.

"I appreciate your concern and I know you love me very much which is why you are doing it. But if Saber doesn't want to then please don't force her." Shirou said in his most earnest voice.

"Shirou, I don't want to lose you." Kiritsugu said a little desperately.

"As if I would let my Master come to harm." Saber said with a hint of pride. Kiritsugu only gave her a cold glare and returned his attention back to Shirou, his expression softening once again.

"Daddy, I would suggest you to concede to Shirou because as I can see, we are going to need all the help we can get to survive. With him already being targeted by Berserker and his Master, it would be actually better for him to participate." Ilya suddenly spoke. Kiritsugu looked surprised.

"What do you mean?" He asked hesitantly, fearing the nature of the news Ilya would give him.

"The Einzberns had initially meant for my body to be slowly modified to allow minimum damage. Which is why my conditioning was incomplete when you rescued me. As a consequence, Lancer has to restrain himself and consciously lower his own stats so that I can support his existence." Ilya said. Saber, to her eternal surprise, noticed something resembling something like tears creep from Kiritsugu's eyes although no one else noticed them. Although she had to admit, it was slightly disturbing to see a little girl like Ilya talk so casually about body modification.

"If onii-chan and Saber were to cooperate, we would have little to no difficulty in winning. That shall eliminate the very danger that pursues onii-chan, right?" Ilya concluded. Kiritsugu stayed silent for a few moments. His breathing was slightly ragged. Then he suddenly stood up.

"Maiya, we are leaving." He said.

"Dad, what do you mean by that?" Shirou said in complete surprise. He got up and followed his father and Maiya to the entrance.

"Shirou, you are in charge of the house. Do not go seeking trouble. If danger presents itself, run and don't look back. Saber and Lancer are more than capable of handling the situation. And make sure to keep up with your school work." Kiritsugu said gravely.

"But-!" Shirou said but was once again cut off.

"Shirou, please understand that I am only allowing you to participate because Ilya's argument is completely valid. I also am trusting you in Saber's care." Kiritsugu said, his voice filled with regret.

"I thought you didn't like her?" Shirou said in a confused voice.

"I do dislike her but I would be lying if I said that she is the type to betray or neglect. Even if I do not like her, I have to acknowledge the fact that she is a chivalrous knight and a Hero. You will be safe in her care." Kiritsugu said in an odd voice. Shirou felt confused. He had just seen his father rage at her yet right now, he almost sounded vaguely admiring.

There was a horn from outside. It seemed that Maiya had brought out the van.

"Finally, remember this much, Shirou." Kiritsugu said and this time, he looked directly into his adopted son's eyes. "I know how much you want to become a hero and I also know that I cannot stop you. So keep this in mind that a hero must never deny himself. Always remain true to yourself. I do not ever want you to see what I have seen." Shirou simply nodded, still confused by what he meant by all that. Kiritsugu nodded tersely and then exited the house. It was nine o'clock at night by now. Shirou stumbled back in and then for a lack of anything better to do, stated to cook dinner.

* * *

"Oh my, what is this?" Lancer noted with some amusement as Shirou began to bring in dish after dish of food.

"Um well, I don't know how much you can eat Lancer-san, so forgive me if the amount of food proves to be insufficient." Shirou said in an apologetic tone.

"Servants do not require food." Saber said calmly. Her entire statement was rendered meaningless by Lancer scooping a plate full of food and gulping it down.

"But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it. A most welcome meal it was, Shirou. Quite well made too. I wouldn't mind having a few more." Lancer said and then proceeded to eat several more plates of food. Saber watched impassively.

"Um, Saber, I don't know whether you would like to or not but you are welcome to eat if you want to." Shirou said hesitantly. The blond woman gave him a confused look before sighing.

"If you insist, Master." She said and reached for the chopsticks.

"No no, I don't want to force you! If you don't want to eat then that is also fine. And please, call me Shirou!" Shirou said hastily. Saber gave him an odd look. Lancer chuckled heartily while even Ilya giggled.

"I would like to have some dinner, Shirou." Saber said with the amount of politeness and cautiousness one would have when dealing with someone with an extremely short temper. Lancer's chuckles grew louder while Ilya simply broke down laughing.

"Why are they laughing? Have I breached some etiquette?" Saber asked curiously.

"I don't know either." Shirou said as he piled rice in a bowl and offered it to Saber.

The rest of the dinner passed away relatively silently except for Lancer and Ilya whispering to each other and sharing secret laughs.

* * *

Matou Shinji was an anomaly. He was a boy who was born to a man who had magical circuits yet he himself had no magical abilities whatsoever. His body didn't have a single magical crest. One could say that he was a useless appendage to the Matou family as compared to his adopted sister, Sakura. But if one thought that he was simply different because of a lack of magical circuits, they would be quite wrong. Matou Shinji was quite a different individual so much so that even his grandfather was intrigued by his change in personality which occurred ten years ago.

His grandfather, Matou Zouken, was never one to keep his basement and workshop locked simply because most people would never want to go in there to begin with. So when Shinji accidentally wandered through the Matou manor and ended up at the steps leading down to the basement, the first thing he tried to do was go back. They were extremelyfaint at first but the lower he went, the more clearly could he hear strange sounds from below. At the bottom of the first flight of stairs, Shinji's instinct for survival told him that he should remove himself from the basement and never come to this part of the house again.

He quickly turned around and tried to climb back up. Only to step on something soft. The little boy looked down and saw one of the most disgusting example of a worm squirm beneath his boot. Screaming in fear, Shinji backed away, slipped and fell directly to the bottom of the basement.

He was saved from falling into the layers of worms at the bottom by the most unlikely person. Although it took some time for Shinji to recognize him and he only remembered him from his voice.

"Uncle Kariya?" He asked fearfully although he doubted himself. He certainly sounded like his father's brother. But even he, a child of merely six years of age, was quite sure that his uncle did not have half a rotten face.

"Shinji, what are you doing here? Did your grandfather make you come here?" His uncle asked in a worried voice.

"No, I am lost. I want to go back!" Shinji said and began to cry.

"Hang on then, let me take you back to the steps." Kariya said in the most cheerful voice he could manage. It wouldn't have convinced any other child but Shinji, who was terrified beyond his wits, found some comfort in them and tried to stop his tears.

And then he saw Kariya's eyes bleeding. It took quite some time for Kariya to reassure him during the time the worms milled blindly around them. And even then, Shinji remained fearful of his uncle.

Kariya walked quite slowly and painfully, making Shinji feel guilty for some reason. He couldn't bring himself to look at his face because of how horrible he looked yet he felt guilty for imposing so heavily upon him. So when finally Kariya deposited him near the exit of the basement, Shinji lingered hesitantly for a moment.

"Thank you, Uncle Kariya, for saving me." Shinji said awkwardly.

"Don't worry, it's what family does." Kariya said, a pained chuckle.

"Everyone in my family?" Shinji asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Every one." Kariya said.

"Even Sakura?" Shinji pressed. There was a long pause and Shinji began to fear that he had done something wrong.

"Especially Sakura. Shinji, can you promise me something?" Kariya asked quietly.

"Yeah." Shinji said quickly.

"Please take care of Sakura in my place. She needs a brother. Promise me that." He asked.

"Okay." Shinji said quickly and backed away from the basement. He could no longer bear the stench or the sound coming from the basement. But he tried to remember his promise.

Now, ten years later, Shinji often wondered how much had he remained true to his promise. On one hand, he had tried to make Sakura's life as pleasant as possible and sometimes, he even thought he could see Sakura's gratitude. It was moments like these that eased the guilt in his mind about his Uncle Kariya. He knew himself that despite his treatment of Sakura, his behavior was nothing more than a coping mechanism for the guilt he felt. It wasn't born out of good will but was more like pity. He simply pitied her but didn't hold proper sympathy.

And then there were moments when he knew that he, Matou Shinji, was the biggest coward on Earth. It was at moments like these he knew that even the fake pity he showered Sakura with was of no value. It was when he fearfully obeyed his grandfather's orders and violated her when Shinji knew that there was no greater piece of trash then him.

Right now, the old vampire had summoned him into the basement. Ever since the end of the Fourth Grail War, Matou Zouken had lived like recluse among the hellish worms of his and refused to come out. Only Shinji and Sakura ever managed to see him and both of them weren't glad to be so privileged.

The young Matou opened the door to the basement and walked inside. He had long since become used to the stench and sounds made by the worms but it didn't mean he enjoyed them. The worms wiggled away from him, giving him a path to the end of the room. The end of the room which was occupied by a mass of worm familiars. Said mass was his grandfather Zouken.

"You summoned me, grandfather?" Shinji asked, forcing himself to keep his tone polite. He had long since passed the line of being merely afraid of Zouken. He now knew that Zouken never really cared for his well being. To him, he was merely a useless boy who was accidentally born in to the Matou household. Shinji very well knew that Zouken could take his life at a whim. The fear in his heart remained but it also made him slightly reckless since he knew that death wasn't far. He had discovered, to his own surprise, that he could retort. The only reason he hadn't died as of yet was because he had always stopped himself from making a snide comment.

"Shinji, I want you to do something for me. Bring your arm forward." Zouken rasped. Shinji hesitantly raised his arm and instantly regretted it as a large, fat worm jumped from the mass and attached itself to Shinji's wrist using its sharp teeth. As Shinji collapsed on the spot, screaming his head off, the worm burrowed deeply into his skin and settled inside his forearm. It took Shinji half an hour to become quiet and even then, he felt an incredible amount of pain emanating from his right forearm. He lifted it up. It was only swollen and it showed no indication of ever being attacked by a magical worm of some sort.

A shadow of some sort appeared behind him. Shinji would have jumped up in surprise hadn't the pain in his arm stopping him from doing anything too drastic.

"This is Servant Assassin and you will act as his temporary Master in my stead." Zouken rasped.

"Why me? Why not Sakura?" Shinji asked and then regretted it. However, instead of killing Shinji for his impudence, Zouken merely rasped out another response.

"Sakura shall control Rider while you shall use Assassin. Do not disappoint me, Shinji, for I need the Grail direly. Make sure to win." Zouken rasped and then fell silent. Shinji took his silence as a permission to leave and stumbled his way back up. He once nearly fell and was saved by Assassin, who was following him from behind.

Once outside, Shinji breathed in fresh air in slow and deep breaths savoring its sweetness.

"What are your orders, Master?" Assassin asked in a polite yet mocking tone. Shinji immediately understood that the Servant he was handling would never see him as a worthy Master. The very thought filled him with anger which he subdued with some difficulty.

"Go and gather knowledge on different Masters and Servants. Make sure not to provoke any. Do not engage anyone unless necessary and prioritize flight over fight. Also, do not attack any Masters for now. I would like to know their identities." Shinji said. Assassin merely chuckled.

"As you wish, Master." He said in his patronizing tone, pronouncing master with an overly mocking tone. He then leaped on to the branches of the trees and was very soon gone. Shinji remained standing as he wondered what kind of plot his grandfather had hatched and how soon was he going to die. Because it was no secret to him that despite the fact his uncle Kariya became the victor of the previous Grail War though a stroke of luck, his grandfather had seized the opportunity by forcibly taking his uncle's Command Spells and then eating him. Matou Zouken had thus become the victor and had made his wish.

Shinji could put together that much. He had searched for his uncle, believing him to be dead before coming to terms with the fact that Kariya might have been devoured by Zouken. As for winning the Grail War, that part was revealed to him by none other than Zouken himself.

What Shinji knew for sure was that the wish had somehow backfired on Zouken. The entire area in which the Grail had materialized had become a field of corpses as people's very lives were pulled out of their bodies. Shinji wasn't aware of why his grandfather wanted to obtain the Grail once more but it was apparent to him that he somehow wanted to counter the very wish he had made.

Shinji sighed as he went back inside. There wasn't much he could do and frankly, he didn't care. All he wanted now was peace and somehow escape the Matous. In fact, it was the fear of Zouken and his guilt that kept him in the mansion otherwise he might have imitated his Uncle Kariya and went to make a living of his own.

Shinji made his way to the kitchen, in hopes of finding something to soothe his pain. He entered the kitchen and got the biggest scare of his life at the sight of a tall, blindfolded, pink haired woman.

"Wha-!" he screamed. The blindfolded woman wasn't disturbed by his presence in the slightest and remained standing motionlessly.

"Nii-san. Are you alright?" Shinji heard Sakura's voice. She rushed into the kitchen.

"Sakura, what is that?" Shinji said as he pointed a shaking finger at the tall woman.

"That is Rider. Grandfather asked me to participate in the Holy Grail War." Sakura said quietly, her voice returning to her default tone after seeing that Shinji was okay.

By asked she means commanded, Shinji thought sourly. He looked at Rider from the corner of his eye and continued to ogle her. Rider, on her part, didn't seem to care. Sinji stopped ogling her after some time because a throb in his right forearm caused him to wince. Sakura also noted his expression.

"What happened to your arm?" She said, worry coloring her voice.

"Oh, it's probably nothing." Shinji said with false bravado. He hated to make her feel more depressed because it made him feel even more guilty. She would see him in pain and blame herself while Shinji would see her moping around and subconsciously feel guilty and they would both go around beating themselves up. Shinji was frankly quite tired of this cycle and was thus forced to go to any lengths in protecting her from harm simply to not feel guilty.

Unfortunately, said bravado was easily seen though as tears started running down his face again as the pain began to escalate. His vision swam and he began to see as if through another person's eyes. A person who was looking at a temple from the cover of the trees.

It took Shinji quite some time to realize that he was actually seeing from Assassin's eyes and he had somehow seen an enemy Servant in a temple. But he was very soon back in his own body and in his own bedroom with Sakura tending to him.

"Are you feeling alright, nii-san?"Sakura asked.

"Yeah, I am alright." Shinji said through gritted teeth. Let the guilt conga began, he thought sarcastically as the familiar feeling began to bug him.

This was going to be a long and most unwelcome war.

_**This chapter is relatively shorter as compared to Chapter One: The Tears of Soldiers; because I wanted to highlight on the mental state of Kiritsugu and Shinji. Go ahead and sue me if you like. I just have this habit of trying to make bad characters better (Shinji in this case) and the only way to do so is by giving them a bit of the limelight. Please do tell which parts did you find enjoyable and which parts need working on. An also tell me what should be the focus of chapter three, preferably with a chapter title as well. Your reviews and opinions are valued.**_

_**Oh and by the way, I don't own Fate Stay Night because if I did, Iskander would have defeated Gilgamesh while Kirei would have still survived.**_


	3. The Cost of Mistakes

_**Chapter Three: The Cost of Mistakes**_

Kiritsugu stared at the object in his hand with disgust. In all of Fuyuki, only this thing was left for him to eat. Despite claiming to be such a modern city, it still didn't have 24/7 convenience stores or all night cafes yet. He had to eat such a loathsome piece of food to fill his stomach.

It was a simple burger. Nothing wrong with it. It would even have passed the health tests to ensure that it was safe to eat. The only problem was that Shirou had been able to cook from the age of eight. At ten, he could cook well enough to be called a proper cook. At twelve he could be called a beginner with a shining future in culinary industry. And now, he would probably be able to open his own restaurants. When you are the adoptive father of a boy who can whip up cuisine that would make you forget the fatigue of accounting and the grief of management, all other food looks terribly disgusting.

Sighing like a martyr, Emiya Kiritsugu bit down hard. Beside him, Maiya fished through the bags for any remaining chips. They could only get fast food since most of the time had been spent in going around in a rented car. The Bentley, which was seldom taken out, was too conspicuous while the Acty had a dent because of ramming that Enforcer. Kiritsugu frowned as he thought about it. That damn woman had the durability of a tank. It would take several days to repair it. They had to settle for renting an old Mitsubishi jalopy. Even Maiya, despite her training in keeping her expressions under check, winced at the sight of it. Their Acty looked better. Kiritsugu had still taken it. At least it was as inconspicuous as a car which had seen better days and was now seeing worse. Their Acty looked as if it had seen a military grade telephone pole during the prime of its life. That dent in front acted like a wart on the tip of Miss Universe's nose. Everyone forgot how good the rest of the Acty looked because of it.

And now here they were, eating food in the jalopy. They had driven all around Miyamachou and besides their own house, the Tohsaka and the Matou residences, Kiritsugu hadn't seen any prominent magi activity. The Tohsaka could wait since all they consisted of was a little girl and her crippled father. A father, Kiritsugu thought with a little guilt, who he had personally crippled. Although he had to admit, Kiritsugu hadn't expected Tokiomi to go down in a blazing glory. Neither, Kiritsugu thought a little more sourly, had he expected him to be an expert in Bajiquan. If it hadn't been for Avalon, Tokiomi would have snapped him in two. And that was after he had been shot with the Origin Bullet. He had immediately shut down all his circuits and proceeded to beat the living crap out of him. Kiritsugu had made an extreme gamble by exploding a grenade in between them. Kiritsugu had survived thanks to Avalon but Tokiomi had to put up with half a face.

And he had still survived. Kiritsugu had to admit, for a man who spent more of his time indoors wasting it in the pursuit of the root of all knowledge, Tokiomi had put up one hell of a fight and nearly killed him. The fight had even boiled right down to an invincible warrior versus immortal warrior paradox. Kiritsugu couldn't lay a hand on Tokiomi no matter how much he struggled to. On the other hand, Tokiomi had killed him enough times but Kiritsugu had refused to remain dead. The grenade had finally solved the problem but even then, both men knew that it was Tokiomi who had won. Kiritsugu had the upper hand from the start but he was the one who had crawled away.

Both Kiritsugu and Maiya's head snapped upwards. The feeling of prana they had sensed was just too much even for unrefined magi like them to ignore. They were currently in Shinto and were close to the church. The touch of magecraft they had felt vanished but both Magus Killers knew where it had come from. Maiya started the car while Kiritsugu reached for beneath his chair and pulled out two handguns and slammed their clips in to place. They stopped a few feet away from their destination. Kiritsugu got out of the car while Maiya remained inside and kept the engine running in case they needed to escape quickly. Kiritsugu walked inside the building with a sense of purpose.

There was a man dressed liked a priest standing beside the altar. He turned around to look at Kiritsugu and sent chills down the Magus Killer's spine. He had long silvery hair and an extremely thin frame. His entire person looked slightly reptilian, as if he was a boa constrictor just waiting for someone to step on him and give him the chance to kill him. This man's body language already told Kiritsugu enough to snap him into full Magus Killer mode. Even Servants and Enforcer hadn't managed to wake his sleeping killer because they, at least, still had a twisted sense of honor. This man was insane and Kiritsugu could already sense it. Kiritsugu cautiously approached the man and cam

"Welcome to the House of God, stranger. What is it that you desire, may I ask?" The man said in a pleasant tone. His words were almost cloyingly sweet like rotten honey. It was easy to tell from his smug expression and laid back posture that he didn't take Kiritsugu's presence seriously. This was a sure sign of him being arrogant but that was not unexpected. What gave away his unstable mental condition was the blatant drainage of prana occurring inside the church. Kiritsugu looked around. The last time he had seen the church from the inside was during the Fourth Holy Grail War when he had sent his bat familiar here when Kotomine Risei had announced a Command Seal as a reward for the killing of Caster.

Kiritsugu had then proceeded to destroy the church and had inadvertently caused the Grail War to end quicker than usual. It was also during all that chaos when Matou Zouken had managed to kidnap Iri.

"I would like to start with all that prana drainage that has been going on inside the church. Why is it happening?" Kiritugu asked bluntly. The man stared at Kiritsugu and the Japanese could sense a form of madness dancing in his eyes. He then very deliberately held up his hand as if ordering someone to stop. The prana drainage ceased.

"Satisfied, stranger?" The silver haired man asked and his false tone slipped a little.

"No. Who are you and what are you doing here?" Kiritsugu asked bluntly.

"I am Sancraid Phahn and I have been sent here by the Holy Church to act as the mediator for the Fifth Holy Grail War. Are you satisfied now?" Sancraid said and this time he didn't even bother to hide his tone.

"Why were you so blatantly draining prana? And for the matter, have you contacted the Second Owner of Fuyuki?" Kiritsugu asked.

"Oh you low Japanese scum just love to ask questions, don't you? What does this do? Why did you do that? Please show me how it works again? You siphon knowledge from us, your superiors, and manage to crawl and that thinks you have a right to throw your weight around? You sense a little prana and you decide to play the role of an inquisitor?" The silver haired reptile of a man rasped and then stared poisonously at Kiritsugu. Kiritsugu felt a little pleased.

Racist. He knew the kind and they were the most easily taken care of. They didn't underestimate and hate a particular man or a particular object. They despised races and were thus blinded by their own arrogance. It was opponents like these who could be taken care of most easily since they were the completely and utterly predictable, just like Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald.

"Why are you still here? Do you have any other problems?" Sancraid rasped. Kiritsugu looked at his hands for a moment. Both of them were bare and didn't carry a Command Spell. Kiritsugu felt like breathing a sigh of relief. At least the judge would be out of the equation. Although he really wondered what was the cause of the prana drainage. Kiritsugu hoped that it wouldn't be a Servant that was doing all of this.

A droplet of water fell onto Kiritsugu's ear. He looked up and saw the ceiling. There was a slight dampness right above where he and Sancraid stood. Another drop managed to fall travelling down, being buffeted by random air drafts and it fell on Sancraid.

It didn't actually fall on the reptilian man. It hit some invisible barrier and slid down as if it was rain drop on a window shield. Kiritsugu felt himself stiffen. This man was carrying a bounded field around him. He was perhaps paranoid enough to do so. The Magus Killer turned around and left the church. He walked over to the car, opened the door and sat inside.

"Back to the motel." He commanded. Maiya nodded and drove away from the church. A few minutes later, both of them were in their room. There was a map of Fuyuki nailed to the wall with the warehouse district, Homurahara high school and the Emiya residence highlighted, showing the path of the pursuit between them and the Enforcer. A sheaf of papers lay on the coffee table along with several empty fast food boxes. Maiya checked the surveillance from one of their many familiars while Kiritsugu highlighted the church and stared at it thoughtfully.

"The Tohsaka Master is the girl called Rin. The one for the Matou is a boy named Shinji." Maiya said. Kiritsugu nodded. He had kind of expected that. He had quite a bit of information about the girl known as Tohsaka Rin. Give or take a few more years and she would become one of the top magi in the clock tower, according to the profile. Which meant that she took first priority. On the boy named Shinji, there was literally no information except that he was the son of Matou Byakuya. Still, it was possible that he was an acceptable Master. Kariya had been the lowest ranking Masters in the Fourth Grail War beside Catser's Master. Even Waver Velvet and he was above him despite their low magecraft abilities.

And yet he had won. Matou Shinji took second priority on being dealt with. The Enforcer, most surprisingly, was the least threatening simply because she was proving to be the least capable Master.

"Do we know which Servants did they summon?" Kiritsugu asked his assistant. Maiya looked thoughtfully.

"The video is a little blurry. I couldn't see anything in the Matou residence but the Tohsaka have summoned a red coated man wielding twin swords." Maiya said in a puzzled voice. Kiritsugu noted her expression.

"He must be a Rider." Kiritsugu ventured. Both pondered on that thought for a few moments.

"Maiya. Get some rest. We are going to deal with our priorities at night." Kiritsugu said as he lay down in his own bed. Maiya nodded. Not much needed to be said. Ten years ago, the might have been able to keep going without sleep for 72 hours but now they had to admit, they were getting old and had gotten too comfortable living a positively idyllic life as ordinary citizens of Japan. They had to be fully rested before operating.

The Magus Killers were going out at night.

* * *

"_Emiya Kiritsugu." A soft voice spoke. Kiritsugu whirled around to face the man._

"_Tohsaka Tokiomi." Kiritsugu acknowledged._

_This was the entrance ceremony for Shirou and Kiritsugu had found himself staring at his enemy from five years ago. Kiritsugu felt mildly impressed that he hadn't committed suicide out of despair over the loss of his magecraft. The former Second Owner was sitting in a wheelchair, dressed elegantly in a charcoal red suit. A mask covered his face but a few wisps of his goatee were visible. All around them, people milled around. Shirou looked from his father's side, curious at the sudden meeting. Beside Tokiomi, his daughter looked rather haughtily at them. Tokiomi's wife patiently stood behind the wheelchair. Maiya looked neutral._

"_What a surprise. I never thought you would be the type to raise a family." Tokiomi said. Kiritsugu remained silent._

"_Dear, why don't you and Rin go over there and look at the school? I need to talk to Mr. Emiya." Tokiomi said._

"_I'll push you, Dad." Rin offered._

"_No, I believe Mr. Emiya would be happy to do so." Tokiomi said. Kiritsugu looked at the masked man. The challenge was accepted. Kiritsugu nodded at Maiya who discreetly nodded back. He then proceeded to walk over and push the wheelchair until they got out of the school grounds and _went_ over to a view overlooking the River Mion._

"_Well, let me first congratulate you on your son entering middle school." Tokiomi said._

"_Get to the point, Tohsaka." Kiritsugu said brusquely._

"_So curt. Well, whatever you wish. I want to say that I do not want to carry a grudge." Tokiomi said. Kiritsugu tried to wrap the idea around his mind. Magi were infamous for their grudges and feuds. They were even hereditary, like inflammatory bowel diseases. And just like inflammatory bowel diseases, grudges were a pain._

_Didn't stop magi. They felt entitled to have them. One of the many reasons Kiritsugu hated them. No one was ever proud of having a spastic colon, why they should feel the same way about feuds?_

_And considering that Tohsaka Tokiomi was as traditional as one could get, Kiritsugu would be ess surprised to see Shirou as a Master than to see Tohsaka Tokiomi doing anything even relatively unlike a typical traditional magus._

_And then Tokiomi pulled out the cell phone._

"_Yes, dear, I will be back in half an hour. Why don't you go to that wonderful restaurant that is so close by? Yes, I will be fine. Don't worry dear, I am perfectly capable. Yes, I love you too. Good bye." Tokiomi said into the mouthpiece. He then disconnected the call and put the phone back in his breast pocket. He looked back Kiritsugu who looking at him slack jawed._

"_You look like as if you have seen a real dragon, Emiya. What is the matter?" Tokiomi said._

"_You just used a cell phone." Kiritsugu said in a whisper. Tokiomi's face was hidden by his mask but his expression would have been as puzzled as his tone._

"_So?" He responded._

"_You are a traditional magus. How can you lower yourself to use mundane appliances?" Kiritsugu asked._

"_You must recall, you destroyed all of my magic circuits when we fought inside my mansion. At least I had implanted the Tohsaka Magical Crest onto Rin before the start of the Grail War. My whole life was turned upside down. I either had to adapt or die. Since I was no longer a magus, I decided to become acquainted with the mundane side of life." Tokiomi explained._

"_And you are still willing to forgive and forget?" Kiritsugu asked._

"_Well, I am willing to forgive but it is kind of hard to forget the fact that fire once used to dance in my hands as easily as you can twirl your pistols." Tokiomi said._

"_I don't twirl my pistols. It is a waste of time. I just aim and fire." Kiritsugu said automatically._

"_Always, the Magus Killer. Ruthless, practical, ruthlessly practical and practically ruthless." Tokiomi said and chuckled as if he had made a particularly funny joke. Kiritsugu waited for him to stop._

"_It must have been hard for you to adjust." Kiritsugu said and much to his own surprise, he felt sympathetic. It was all well and good that Tokiomi used to be his enemy but in the end, the Tohsakas hadn't personally hurt him. All that enmity was because of the Grail War and now that was behind them, so was the reason for conflict. And seeing Tokiomi's miserable state, Kiritsugu felt guilty._

"_Ah well, that is all true but remember, my father thought that I would be an incredibly poor heir to the Tohsaka and would have even produced another sibling just to raise him to be the better heir. I managed to become a decent magus in his eyes simply through hard work and a good memory. Now that I am old, I have enough experience in learning things quickly that I am able to be seen as a normal cripple instead of a former mage cripple." Tokiomi said._

"_Are you trying to make me feel guilty, Tohsaka?" Kiritsugu asked._

"_Not deliberately, Emiya." Tokiomi quipped. There was a moment of silence in which none of the former mages spoke._

"_I am sorry to have destroyed your life, Tohsaka." Kiritsugu said._

"_And I grant you permission to stay here by my authority as the Second Owner of Fuyuki. I also pardon you and hope we don't have to end up at each other's throats." Tokiomi said. _

"_Why are you giving up on the grudge, Tohsaka? What is the catch? Traditional magi like you would never forgive an act like this." Kiritsugu asked._

"_Well, for one thing, as I lack any circuits to be a magus, I don't fall in the category of a traditional magus. Secondly, the Tohsaka lack the resources to properly engage in a feud against the Emiya. And finally and most importantly, I realized that a feud would mean that the entire Tohsaka bloodline might be destroyed and that would be very stupid. We Tohsaka may be foolish but we are not stupid." Tokiomi replied and with that final answer he abruptly turned around and wheeled himself away._

_Tokiomi suddenly found the wheelchair moving on its own accord. He turned around to see Emiya Kiritsugu pushing the wheelchair._

"_What is this?" Tokiomi observed, more amused than angry. "The Magus Killer actually doing something besides killing?"_

"_Would you like me to push you into the river to complete the killing part?" Kiritsugu asked in a deadpan voice._

"_Are you trying to embarrass me, Emiya?" Tokiomi sighed as he settled back into his wheelchair._

"_Not deliberately, Tohsaka." Kiritsugu answered._

_There was another pause._

"_You're not the real Second Owner anymore, aren't you Tohsaka?" Kiritsugu asked._

"_Of course not, Emiya. I am just Rin's advisor and father. I spend most of my time reading classic literature and watching BBC." Tokiomi answered._

_There was another pause._

"_There is a television in your house?" Kiritsugu said in an astounded voice._

"_Don't even begin, Emiya." Tokiomi replied._

_Kiritsugu had later observed the restaurant from a distance, smoking in silence. To be truthful, he had never tried to empathize with his targets because it made killing them difficult. Kiritsugu may have the gift of being completely apathetic and stoic when the need arose but a man could only keep his emotions in control so much. He looked back at his ten years younger self's mind set. At that time, Tohsaka Tokiomi was just the name of a target who happened to have be a particularly dangerous threat. Now, he was a husband, a father, a cripple, a man who's life Kiritsugu had personally turned hell and a man who had climbed out of said hell with a determination that Kiritsugu knew could be described as almost without parallel. And he was brave enough to forgive him as well._

_For the first time in his life, Kiritsugu wondered whether his lost hope for humanity wasn't so lost at all. Shrugging the thought to the back of his head, Kiritsugu made his way to Maiya and Shirou who were in the Bentley. The Former Magus Killer Emiya Kiritsugu and the former Second Owner Tohsaka Tokiomi may not be friends, allies or even acquaintances but at least they would be able to see each other not as enemies. A small start, but significant nonetheless._

* * *

"Caster, why did you command me to not kill him?" Sancraid Phahn asked in an indignant voice. The black clad reptile of a priest was looking at empty space behind the altar with a halberd in his hand. Traditionally, a member of the Eighth Sacrament would have been equipped with Black Keys and Sancraid also possessed them but he had to admit, the halberds of the Chivalric Orders did pack a magnificent punch. He reckoned that it would even be able to force a Servant to block, provided one could swing it with enough force. For a normal magus or even a normal human, that would be nearly impossible. But Sancraid was one of the few people who could, although it severely limited all his other options of combat.

The air behind the altar shimmered and a woman clad in purple seem to materialize. Her smirk was just barely visible but her whole posture was radiating the arrogance of a mage or a royal.

"I have been scrying on various parts of the city, Sancraid and it seems that this man is the father of the Master of Lancer." Caster explained. Sancraid frowned and licked his lips.

"Really? Well, that is inconvenient, I suppose. But it was fated to be so I have no say in it. But why stop me?" Sancraid asked. Caster gave him a look that emphasized how stupid Sancraid really was until the reptilian priest finally looked down. It is very hard to look directly at a Heroic Spirit. Only the Masters of Servants, those people who are stupid enough and those who are grand enough can do so. Sancraid was none of them. He was only the mediator and Caster had decided to ally herself with him for practical reasons. Such as the fact that Sancraid was a fanatical racist and regarded Caster as worthy of possessing the Grail. In Sancraid's perception no Japanese hand must touch it.

"If we anger Lancer's Master by killing her father, then she is going to wreck havoc. Even if by some miracle we don't get caught in the crossfire, it will be extremely unlikely for the Church or the Association to overlook this scenario. They wouldn't hunt you down, they would simply destroy this entire city with you, the Second Owner and nearly eleven million other people in it. Would that be a good thing for you?" Caster said, her tone extremely dangerous and patronizing at the same time, as if she was a teacher trying to instruct a particularly stupid child.

"Well, if you put it that way, I suppose so." Sancraid said reluctantly. Then he struggled with his words. "But we could kill the Second Owner, right? She has an extremely weak Servant." Sancraid said. Caster looked thoughtful for a few moments.

"Well, I suppose so. I managed to look at the various properties of her Servants and I am severely disappointed. She claims that she summoned an Archer, but it fought against berserker with twin swords. And speaking of Berserker, I couldn't recognize the mad hero who wrecked havoc but that maybe because he doesn't seem to be a Greek or a Roman Heroic Spirit. Judging from that female Master's red hair, slightly large build, usage of futhark runes, straight forward and nearly reckless fighting style, I would venture her of being either Scandinavian or Celtic in origin. Her Servant also shares roots with since all his attributes are boosted by a healthy measure. I would even be as bold as to propose that her Servant is also her ancestor. Which reminds me, Lancer is the greatest threat in this entire War since he is Herakles. No other Servant poses as much a threat as he does and we should beware of him and his Master." Caster rattled on. She had long since passed the point where normal people would tell her to shut up. Sancraid was awed by her and kept listening, drinking in every word. But he managed to inch in a word after Caster described Lancer.

"But Berserker managed to push Lancer back." He said hesitantly. Instead of earning a wrathful glare or being incinerated on the spot, Caster simply frowned.

"True but there are two reasons for that. The first reason is that Lancer and Berserker clashed in the vicinity of Lancer's Master's unconscious father. Lancer was deliberately holding back just to avoid crushing that man beneath his feet. And secondly, Herakles's Master and he share no connection save that of Master and Servant. Inversely, Berserker and his Master do. We could safely assume that we are approaching the invincible warrior versus immortal warrior paradox." Caster said.

"What's that?" Sancraid said, utterly stupefied. Caster looked at him with a little disdain. Although she did enjoy non-hostile attention, she didn't like the kind given by a mentally retarded hound. She hadn't even personally addled his mind yet and already he behaved as if he was touched in the head. Even her being a Heroic Spirit was inexcusable for this kind of behavior.

"In a fight between an immortal warrior and an invincible warrior, the outcome would be a stalemate because the invincible warrior's skill and the immortal warrior's power are cancelled by each other's immortality and invincibility respectively. Of course, isn't exactly a true paradox because invincible doesn't mean immortal and thus it actually means that the invincible warrior will be the one to die first but for quite a long time, both would fight to a draw. Herakles is the weaker Hero but he is immortal to an extent while Berserker is the stronger but much more killable one. Berserker can't kill Herakles but inversely, Herakles can't overpower Berserker. The fight would boil down to the power or abilities of their Noble Phantasms." Caster explained, tis time leaving Sancraid confused instead of elated.

"Doesn't it always boil down to their Noble Phantasms?" He asked in a puzzled tone. Caster nodded.

"Well mostly. But a Knight Class Servant or maybe even a Rider doesn't need to activate their trump cards to win against a regular Caster or an Assassin. As or Berserker, since they are mad to begin with, they are either deprived of their Noble Phantasms because of their lack of sanity or fine motor skills; or their Noble Phantasm are constantly active. In this particular Berserker's case, I am not sure because although he carries a spear, he hasn't as of yet even tried to invoke its power. On the other hand, he managed to fare quite well so it may be that his spear boosts his already formidable power and thus is a constantly active Noble Phantasm." Caster explained. Sancraid, now utterly lost, remained silent.

"So what are you going to do now?" The reptilian priest asked.

"Well, I have taken care of my worthless Master. He asked me to keep him safe through the use of a Command Spell after he witnessed the wanton destruction caused between Berserker and Archer. So I granted his wish. He would be quite safe in that jar I prepared for him. He still supplies me with prana and still acts as my anchor for this world so I have no worries for now. But the upcoming battles would be quite hazardous and frankly, even a Master Magus like me has little chance of surviving against six Heroic Spirits, especially considering that all of them are combat oriented. Furthermore, despite how useful my Master is proving to be, he is Chinese and thus my attributes are now pitifully low. I would need a Servant of my own to win." Caster explained. It took Sancraid some time to understand just what the witch had proposed.

"You wish to become a Master? But you are, pardon me, a Servant yourself!" He exclaimed, surprised at what she was stating. He then frowned as another thought passed through his head.

"And how would you get a Servant for yourself?" he added. Caster looked at him with approving eyes. Maybe this man wasn't as stupid as she thought.

"That is something for me to decide. Sancraid, you are to observe all the Knight classes and Rider. Assassin is too weak and I don't want a Servant deprived of sanity. I shall gather enough prana from the nearby leylines for me to create my own Territory. Do not disturb me for a day unless you learn of an attack." Caster dictated and then shimmered out of view. Sancraid fell into a pew and stared at the place where the female Heroic Spirit had been.

Sancraid Phahn, was one of the most contradictory men on Earth, but not consciously. He believed in the superiority of the Caucasian race, except that he wasn't the prime case himself and this isn't even counting the fact that he was of North American origin. His only virtues were blind faith and brute force. He was insistent on his belief that all other races were inferior, despite the virtually the entire world proving it otherwise.

But the greatest piece of irony was that Sancraid Phahn, a firm believer in the superiority of the Caucasian race, of blood line purity and a racist zealot; had Apache ancestry.

* * *

"Are you trying to say that Lancer is Herakles, the World's Strongest Man?" Rin said in a worried voice. Archer nodded tersely. The Master and Servant were currently standing on top of the school building, waiting for classes to start. The sight of Lancer's head exploding and then reforming had triggered enough of memories inside Archer to give him a good grasp of what was happening.

Frankly, he was now both relieved and terrified. He had a good understanding of his powers, although he still didn't know enough about them that he was uncomfortable. His grasp over his fighting style was more instinctual than conscious. He knew the identity of Lancer and Berserker. Both would prove to be formidable opponents.

But along with that, he remembered why he wanted to kill himself in hopes of creating a time paradox. Frankly, now that he remembered all that time as a Counter Guardian, he wished he didn't remember it at all. What was even sadder was that his younger version had a very little chance of going on to become him. He had his father, his sister and Sakura, not to mention that woman called Maiya, whoever she was. Bu just because there was little chance for him to become him did not mean that the possibility had been reduced to zero. He would still have to kill himself just to save himself.

"That's what I said. He seems to be the greatest threat in this War although Saber and Rider have yet to be seen." Archer said in an exasperated tone. He was less frustrated by Rin parroting after him and more about the fact that he seemed to recall Lancer's Noble Phantasm. It was his skin and had something to do with the rank of the attack. But as always, whenever he tried to focus and grasp the particular memory, it seemed to slip away.

"Archer, tell me truthfully. Can you defeat Lancer? Are you truly the strongest Servant?" Rin asked. Archer looked at his tiny Master and considered the question carefully. Rin looked desperate and for some reason, Archer felt tremendous a tremendous desire to comfort her and keep her safe. He was also completely confused by his desire since as he recalled, Saber had been his lover while he was alive. So why were these feelings emerging. However, these feelings spurred him to answer.

"Well, I could defeat him but it would mean that we need to ally ourselves with another Master. It would also put a tremendous strain on you so I would say that you remain at home at that time. I wouldn't be able to look out for you since the one I will be facing is the strongest Servant. Oh, and there is a chance that I might die instead." Archer said casually. Rin turned red for some reason.

"Idiot, don't say the word die so easily! You said that you were the strongest Servant so go ahead and prove yourself!" The petite raven haired girl said angrily. Archer chuckled.

"Well, it would really be uncool of me if I disobey my cute Master's order, especially since I made such a claim. But we should better find a Master to ally with." He said.

"Well that's true but where are we going to find a Master to ally with? Most would be reluctant to even reveal their status as a Master and they would be too paranoid to even begin considering an alliance this early." Rin said.

"Well then Tohsaka, how about teaming up with me?" Someone said from behind. Rin whirled around while Archer felt another hurricane of memories brew up.

"Matou Shinji." Rin said in a controlled voice.

The school and the bounded field. Flying winged horsed. Saber on skyscraper. Excalibur. Ilya and Berserker.

"Yo, Tohsaka, thought I heard you wondering where would one find a Master willing to form an alliance. Well, here I am." Shinji said nervously.

"Go away, Shinji. You may know about the world of mages but there is no way that you can be a Master." Rin said.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours." Shinji offered.

"How about no?" Rin said sweetly but dangerously. Archer, contradictory to his Master's wishes, materialized. Rin looked betrayed.

"Archer, what the hell?" She asked in an angry tone.

"Rin, Shinji knows about Servant and still approached you. No one can be that stupid. He must be a Master." Archer said.

"That's pretty fallacious and faulty logic at work here. Give me a solid reason." Rin demanded. Archer hesitated. He wanted to keep his abilities hidden because there might be a chance that Rin may connect the dots and see who Archer was. But Rin didn't seem to know his past self so the chance was still reduced. Archer, however, still didn't want to take chances but now that Rin was asking for solid proof and he didn't want her to use a Command Spell simply out of spite, he decided to yield for once.

"There is a living foreign object implanted inside Shinji's right forearm." Archer stated. Rin looked at Shinji with surprise.

"That old vampire is getting that desperate?" She said.

"Well, since you did show me yours, I guess it is only fair that I reply in kind." Shinji rasped, suddenly leaning against the wall. A hooded figure materialized beside him, causing Rin to gasp.

"Assassin?" She asked. She looked at Archer. "You knew of his presence didn't you?" She said.

"No Rin. The only reason you aren't dead is because of Shinji's good will." Archer said somberly as he fully realized how dangerous the Presence Concealment skill could actually be. A threat was standing only twenty feet away and he couldn't see it. Servants could even see each other in their dematerialized states but Assassins truly did become invisible.

"What truly penetrating vision, Archer. I knew that Heroes of the Bow had the best sight but yours is truly marvelous. Is it possibly part of your legend?" Assassin said in an ingratiating tone.

"Shove it, Assassin." Archer growled.

"Shove what?" Assassin asked, puzzled by the expression since colloquial and slang were not provided as knowledge to Servants, just a basic working of the world.

"Hey you look familiar. Are you some famous Japanese hero? Maybe Miyamoto Musashi or Sasaki Kojiro?" Shinji said to quell the tension as he squinted at Archer. Archer felt mildly uncomfortable. To have his identity discovered so quickly would be a blow to his plans. Especially by Shinji of all people.

"They were both swordsmen, you idiot." Rin said dryly.

"Hey, I was just guessing, no need to get so riled up about it!" Shinji protested.

"Rin, please ally yourself with Shinji. It would be to our benefit. And Assassin, put that dagger back where it belongs or else I am going to take it from you and shove it where the sun doesn't shine." Archer interjected, first pleading to Rin and then switching to threatening Assassin.

"You are going to shove my dagger into the Castle of Alamut?" Assassin said, genuinely confused by the expression. Before the other three people on the roof could educate him on the meaning of the expression, the bell finally rang.

Rin went into class, fully expecting to go through another boring day.

And saw Emiya Shirou. The red haired boy had bags under his eyes. But he looked completely healthy for someone who had been chased by an Enforcer.

"Good morning, Tohsaka." The red haired boy said pleasantly.

"Hurk?" was all Rin could manage to say. It was one thing to get lucky but quite another to live to tell the tale and then come to school. Was he that stupid? Or lucky? Or stupidly lucky?

"Is there something wrong?" Emiya asked. Before Rin could explode and reveal the nature of magecraft to everyone in school as she grabbed the red haired boy by the collar and shook him until his teeth rattled, Shinji appeared.

"Yo Emiya! What's up? Mind accompanying me after school to repair my bike? We'll even get an early dinner and I might introduce you to some pretty girls if you do a good job. What do you say?" Shinji said.

"You don't have to do all that. Where is your bike anyways?" Emiya answered good naturedly.

"Wait, Emiya! You promised to repair the exhaust fans of various club rooms!" Ryuudou the bespectacled student body president interrupted.

The three boy friends left chattering away, leaving Rin standing stock still with shock.

"I take it that you didn't take that well." Archer said bluntly. Rin simply nodded.

"He should be dead yet he is alive." Archer added, stating the obvious. Rin nodded again, earning a few odd looks from her admirers since it looked as if she nodding for no reason since Archer had dematerialized. There was a pause.

"You are doing remarkably well. I actually expected you to explode and reveal the nature of magecraft to everyone in school as you grabbed Emiya by the collar and shook him until his teeth rattled." Archer said in an amused voice.

Rin shook herself vigorously and went to class, ignoring the stares of her fans and supporters. The invisible Archer followed, chuckling at the confusion of his Master.

* * *

And it was after the school hours of Homurahara High School when Murphy and Finagle decided to have a drink together.

Matou Shinji was terrified, even if he didn't show it. Tohsaka Rin's Servant was terrifying. He had accurately managed to see the worm in his forearm. He had considered asking Sakura to send Rider over just to protect him. He even called her, only to find that he had no credit. So much for protection.

Right now, he was going with clueless Emiya to have his bike repaired. It was late and dark because Emiya had taken nearly a million years in fixing those exhaust fans. Emiya Shirou was Shinji's only true friend. Shinji was quite popular in his own right but only Emiya was willing to listen to his woes. Although most of the time, he had to heavily disguise what he meant. Emiya's stupidly positive belief in Shinji being a good person was one of the few reasons he hadn't committed suicide.

At least no enemies had appeared yet.

"So Shinji—" Emiya began to speak, as they took out his bike to inspect when they heard something.

"▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅▅▅"

"SHIT!" Both boys swore together as they saw the terrifying Berserker hurl himself towards them. The mad man had appeared out of nowhere and technically had no business even being there to begin with. Perhaps his Master couldn't control him?

The red demonic lance seemed to leap forward with murderous intent, clearly aiming to skewer both boys at the same time.

And then Berserker pulled his spear back and deflected a dagger hurled at his eyes. The weapon rebounded and was deftly caught by Assassin's only arm before he threw it again.

"Fly!" He called out as he leaped down from the school's boundary wall and engaged berserker. Shinji was actually impressed. Assassin was clearly unmatched but had still leaped into the fray.

"Shinji come on!" Emiya called out. He was already sitting on the bicycle's seat. Shinji sat on his bicycle's carrier as Emiya began to pedal. He was acting on instinct and only realized a moment later that his bike shouldn't be moving at all, considering that there was no air in the tires.

"Trace on." Emiya muttered. Shinji, who was hugging Emiya from behind, felt Emiya's body grow hot. The speed of the bicycle increased. Emiya's legs pumped. They started to pick up speed.

Assassin quickly caught up with them. Shinji barely managed to make out the black skinned Servant's form through his tear filled eyes.

"For the love of God Almighty, spur that metallic steed of yours! Archer can barely keep him engaged with his arrows!" Assassin said in a panic stricken state. Seeing the smug and irritating Assassin speak in a terrified term nearly sent Shinji into hysterics.

"For the love of Hikaru Genji, Emiya! Pedal faster! I haven't even gone on a proper date yet!" Shinji wailed pathetically.

And then Berserker caught up to them.

The mad Servant's first thrust would have killed Shinji but was deflected by Assassin's hidden blade. The second thrust wasn't successful as the Mad Servant was forced to block an arrow-sword shot by Archer. The third didn't even begin before Berserker was forced to block Assassin's thrown dagger, which bounced off the spear and was expertly caught by Assassin again.

A police motorcycle drew up. Shinji reckoned that Emiya had somehow exceeded the speed limit. He briefly wondered how long he was going to live. He was either going to be killed by Berserker's spear…

Berserker thrust the lance through the poor policeman's chest, quickly yanked it out and parried another arrow-sword.

Or the Association would just decide to level Fuyuki. Probably some of those Enforcer's he had heard about would be the ones responsible.

People stared as the bicycle and two Heroic Spirits rocketed up the road while blade like arrows rained on them only to shatter and disappear.

Unknown to any of them except Shirou and Archer, their magical circuits had now achieved almost perfect synchronization. Archer could almost see the scene of the chase and sense it as well, although it was almost useless. Emiya Shirou was currently pedaling at such an extraordinary rate that the bicycle, despite a distinct lack of air in its tires, had achieved a speed of nearly eighty kilometers per hour. Both Berserker and Assassin could go faster than this however Assassin and Archer's mutual efforts were keeping Berserker from advancing. Shirou was actually suffering from tunnel vision and was relying on Archer's view of him to navigate the terrain and even dodge some of arrow-swords. It grew confusing because their minds were now acting as a psychic Mobius strip. Archer was able to target so effectively despite being nearly three and a half miles behind because he could see through Shirou's eyes however Shirou could navigate so effectively because Archer was looking at them.

And Shinji was screaming like a little girl.

Assassin and Berserker, after nearly six kilometers of pursuit and fighting, crashed into one another and fell.

And then things which were already going very fast to begin with started to go extremely fast. Emiya Shirou applied the brakes and came to a halt after several moments. With all the memories, abilities, experience, muscle memory and technique that had been downloaded into his mind from Archer's ready, Emiya got off the bike.

"Emiya?" Shinji asked tersely. Assassin and Berserker fought savagely, a mere blur to normal people now. Assassin was now openly acting aggressive and was performing admirably. Assassin was too skilled while Berserker was too powerful. It now depended on who unleashed his Noble Phantasm first.

Shirou raised his left arm and a black bow formed in his hand. Shinji gasped, shocked at this sudden display of magecraft. Nobody else around him were paying attention to him because everyone's attention was focused on the raging blur where Assassin and Berserker fought.

"I am the bone of my sword." Shirou breathed.

A voice was yelling at him to stop and it was getting closer by the second. But another part of him justified not listening to it. It was a foreign voice, why should he listen to it? He was in danger, why shouldn't he defend himself?

The voice came from the same place from where he subconsciously saw himself. The Command Spells on his left hand glowed and grew warm. Shirou instinctively knew that Saber was coming. No doubt she somehow was able to sense the danger he was in and was coming full tilt to protect him from harm. But he had to stop all of this. It was getting too ridiculous. People could be hurt now and he wouldn't be able to do anything. And the more people knew about it, the more likely it was that the Association would terminate them.

"Caladbolg." He said. The cork screwed sword sprang out.

And was barely but deftly dodged by both Berserker and Assassin. The Broken Noble Phantasm flew.

Shirou felt the familiar voice stop at a building and desperately try to aim at the flying sword in hopes of destroying it in mid flight.

The projectile exploded nearly two kilometers away with an unparalleled intensity. Shirou, Shinji and nearly everyone else felt the heat from the blast even from this direction. Entire buildings were ripped apart. Trees were incinerated to ashes within seconds.

Emiya Shirou collapsed, drained. A split second later, Archer landed on the ground and punched Emiya in the face.

"You idiot! Look at what you just did!" He yelled. And then jumped back as Saber arrived.

"Master, are you alright? Why didn't you call me?" Saber said in a panic stricken voice.

"Look at what you did, Emiya Shirou! Observe it! I wanted to kill you to save you from the tragedies of being a Hero but it seems that there is no need for me to do it anymore. A man like you can now never become a hero." Archer said viciously. He was about to resume before his eyes widened.

"Rin!" He said in a terrified voice and dematerialized, much to the puzzlement ofbBoth Saber and Shirou.

Assassin landed a safe distance away from Saber and Shirou.

"Master we should go. Your mundane law enforcers are about to arrive." Assassin said in a worried voice. Shinji barely had the time to nod before Assassin picked him up and leaped away.

"Master, we should go." Saber said worriedly. Emiya Shirou simply remained there, petrified.

"Master." Saber said. People were rushing around them, some were trying to get away while the others were trying to take pictures. Police milled around them, seemingly not noticing a woman in armor and a red haired man on his knees. They were more probably concerned and utterly bewildered by the explosion.

"Master." Saber repeated, her tone a little more harsher.

She then noticed the drops on the ground near her Master. They looked like raindrops, except that it was a cloudless night. Alarm bells began to ring in Saber's mind as her she realized what was happening.

"I just wanted to help." Shirou finally said in a broken voice before giving up and shedding tears in earnest. "I just wanted to help." He repeated, his words mangled by grief this time.

* * *

Emiya Kiritsugu dispassionately looked at the destroyed Tohsaka Mansion. The amount of explosives used had been more than sufficient to completely destroy the mansion. The sound of the explosion was so loud that Kiritsugu fancied hearing another sound similar to it. He didn't see any light or physical damage and decided that it might be his imagination. He still decided to do only a single quick sweep after which they would retreat, confirmed kill or not. Killing Tohsaka Rin with a well placed rifle round would have been a better option but the thaumaturgical barriers surrounding the estate prevented physical attacks. And if they could enter the grounds due to Kiritsugu's unique abilities, it would be better to bomb the building rather than risk collateral damage against an enemy. The Magus Killer never underestimated, they just eliminated. He and Maiya were now looking for any signs of life just in case. Apparently, the explosives had been sufficient. The entire Tohsaka lineage had now been effectively wiped out.

Emiya Kiritsugu finished his cigarette, rubbed out the embers on a metallic box and stored away the empty cigarette butt inside the box. Kiritsugu never left evidence behind, not if he could help it. Tobacco now seemed particularly disgusting. Maiya looked neutrally at her surroundings. They had now finished their work and were going to disappear, but not before erasing all their traces.

A red coated man suddenly appeared out of nowehere and stared at the ruins in shock. Maiya leveled her gun at him as did Kiritsugu. The man clad in red, however, completely ignored them both.

"Rin." He said emotionlessly. Kiritsugu and Maiya tried to quietly to back away but it was too late for them to retreat.

"You!" The red coated man spun around and glared at them.

"Run!" Maiya hissed as she prepared to sacrifice herself for Kiritsugu. She fired several shots at the red clad man, who simply dematerialized and rematerialized close to them. In one swift motion, he twisted Maiya's arm around and placed a black blade around her neck. Maiya froze as the metal touched her skin. Kiritsugu stood still, plagued by the choice between fight or flight.

"Emiya Kiritsugu, all my life I wished that the rumors I heard about you wouldn't be true but in the end, it seems that naivety has no place in this world. You truly are the Magus Killer." The Servant spat. Kiritsugu remained silent. More than half of him wanted to escape and sacrifice Maiya. He knew that she wouldn't mind. She would even gladly do it.

The more humane part of him kept him firmly standing in the same place.

And then there was a part of his mind which was quite curious.

"What do you mean by that?" Kiritsugu asked warily. He knew that he wouldn't like the answer. He just didn't know how much.

"You, who always dreamed of becoming a hero, were the one who faced the bitter truth about it. It is an impossibility that should never be touched. In the end, a hero can only save those who are on his own side. And a desire to become hero is simply stupid." The Servant continued viciously.

"What do you mean by that?" Kiritsugu restated his question, speaking louder this time.

"But you never knew how much damage you just wrecked, didn't you? You should have never adopted that boy from the fire!" The Servant ranted, looking just as mad as Berserker.

A bullet passed close to the Servant's ear. Only Maiya flinched and only involuntarily.

"What do you mean by that? Answer me!" Kiritsugu roared. His rage was now visible on his face. The Servant looked at Kiritsugu for a while.

"I am the Heroic Spirit Emiya Shirou, adopted into the Emiya Clan by Emiya Kiritsugu. I am the adopted brother of Ilyasviel Einzbern. I am the lover of Arturia Pendragon. And most importantly, I am the inheritor of your ideals, Dad." The Servant said in the most venomous voice. He seemed to take sadistic pleasure from Kiritsugu's expressions. Even Maiya's breath seemed to freeze and she tried to sneak a look at his face. The Servant let her squirm a little.

"Shirou? But how?" Kiritsugu said weakly.

"I learned these beliefs from you, dad. I pursued your dream for you, dad. I died upholding them, dad. I became a Counter Guardian and witnessed Hell several times over, dad. TELL ME YOU ARE PROUD OF ME, DAD!" Servant roared. He then proceeded to punch Kiritsugu in the face and sent him flying. The middle aged mercenary tried to raise himself after a while.

"I only wanted the Grail to destroy myself in case my original plan failed. But you then just resorted to this. What am I going to do now?" EMIYA asked. Kiritsugu stared at him for a few moments.

"I could—" Kiritsugu began to speak.

"No, I won't tolerate it. I will never serve as your Servant. It would be an insult to Rin's memory." The Servant growled. He let go of Maiya and began to walk away. He then turned around briefly.

"And besides, an imprisoned master won't be of much use." He said before disappearing. Kiritsugu and Maiya remained confused for only a split second and then they realized with horror, just what EMIYA meant.

Cars screeched to a halt. Doors were opened and then slammed shut as policemen and policewomen clambered out their vehicles. Pistols, rifles and shotguns were aimed at the two of them. A megaphone squeaked in protest as someone turned it on.

"Drop your weapons and raise your hands in the air. You are now formally under arrest." The man with the megaphone declared. Kiritsugu looked helplessly at Maiya. His assistant looked back with an equally desperate gaze.

It wasn't fair, Kiritsugu thought bitterly. In the Fourth Grail War, he had been completely prepared. He had nine years to ready himself at that time. He had been young. He knew about virtually every participant of any importance in the War and had chalked up plans for every one of them. He stacked up his armory. He had Irisviel with him.

This War hadn't started; It had been thrown at his face. He had woken up two days ago, only worried about his daughter. Now here he was, worried about his son and Fuyuki in general. He was about to be either arrested or shot by a police force that had suddenly decided to become much more efficient and responsive today for no comprehensible reason. His life had been turned upside down and he couldn't do a damned thing except submit.

"Fuck this." Kiritsugu said, his voice laced with hopelessness, and threw down his assault rifle. Maiya followed suit. Both Magus Killer willingly submitted themselves to the local authorities.

Thus, the second day of the Holy Grail War came to a surprising end with one Master already dead.

_**Yes, I know. Badly written chapter. No excuse this time as well.**_

_**Damn you, you people who create viruses and worms! I don't which one of it was the culprit of the massive data lost but I am angry at you! The creation of such harmful software is just terrible and it makes me angry! I lost four story drafts! FOUR! The one you have just read was lost and had to be rewritten from scratch. I will tend to the twelfth chapter of the Priest of Zero after this. I also have decided on two more stories, specifically a Campione fanfic in which Gilgamesh from UBW ends up in the Campione verse and decides to conquer it. (Catch is, Gilgamesh rejects the gift of Pandora and refuses to become a Campione). I also have thought of a non-crossover Sekirei fanfic featuring an OC Ashikabi and Sekirei respectively. (Because it seems like a good idea.)**_

_**Don't mind this part because this is just me ranting but did you ever notice how most harem animes could be much better if they weren't **_harem _**animes? Ironic, isn't it? Let us observe:**_

_**Familiar of Zero: **_

_**Could focus on: Renaissance-style Magical Theocracy with oppressed peasants. Could show the peasants rebelling with the Protagonist stuck in a moral dilemma to help his Mistress or aid the Rebellion.**_

_**Focuses on: The occasional fight and Harem antics.**_

_**Sekirei:**_

_**Could focus on: Human looking aliens who can not only biologically bond with humans, they can also mate and procreate with them. Scientists wish to use the Ashikabi, Sekirei and their offspring as their test subjects, Evolutionary biologists interested in the outcome as well while more religious fanatics either claim the Sekirei to be Gods or Demons. All the while the rest of the nations try to capture some of their own. Some people outraged by the Ashikabi's moral obligation to wing a Sekirei since they are their 'destined ones', not even taking the Ashikabi's feelings and freewill into account. (Bonus points if said Ashikabi is already in a relationship or married.)**_

_**Focues on: Well to be fair, Sekirei does fare better than the others but ultimately, fanservice-y fights, a mad crackpot manipulating the Sekirei and most expectedly, harem antics.**_

_**Campione:**_

_**Could focus on: Need I say much? This is fertile ground for a Lovecraft fan to do his work! Heretic Gods have no regard of human life and just do as they please. Campiones are no better, only seeking to kill said Gods for the sake of power. The Campione are Nodens while the Heretic Gods are Yog Sothoth. Humanity is doomed anyways.**_

_**Focuses on: What else?**_

_**Infinite Stratos:**_

_**Could Focus on: Politics, War, Ironman.**_

_**Focuses on: Gaddamn it, nothing but harem antics! At least the previous three tried to show something else as well.**_

_**And these are just some of the few of many. Although some harem anime are good, most are not so much. What do you say? Not that there is much to discuss since what I am saying has already been said several times over.**_


	4. The Horns of a Dilemma

**Chapter Four: The Horns of a Dilemma**

_Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire._

_Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain._

_The world was filled with fire and pain. People demanded answers from him. People begged him to give meaning to the senseless slaughter._

_Emiya Shirou was a monster._

Emiya Shirou parried the blows of a red spear wielded by a man in blue. Taking advantage of a pause between the spear thrusts, he jumped out but before he could complete his escape, he was sent flying by a roundhouse kick.

_He had disappointed his father. He had disappointed Ilya. He had disappointed Maiya-nee-san._

A gigantic man who exuded an air of brutality. His eyes were heterochromatic, one red while the other was yellow. In his hand was a stone axe-sword which he was using against a woman with an invisible weapon and blonde hair. The blonde woman and the huge man fought with a force that shook the heavens.

_The people demanded answers. Why had they died so suddenly? Which monster had been the cause of their deaths? Had their deaths been in vain?_

A brilliant golden light enveloped the flying horse and its rider. The golden light had been used by the same blonde woman. There was something shining in her hand but it was shining so brightly that one couldn't look at it directly without fear of being blinded.

_That man in the red sleeves, Archer, was correct. A man like him could never be a hero. He was an insult to all heroes and the ideals of heroism. To use such force with such carelessness! And what force it was!_

_And the irony was that even though Emiya Shirou could never become a hero, EMIYA SHIROU did._

_Archer's identity slipped into his mind and began to force away all memories of Emiya Shirou._

A man in golden armor fought the blonde woman.

_He was…_

Emiya Shirou stood on top of a building, carefully adjusting the sight of his rifle. His scope was slightly crooked but he could manage with that. The thing that mattered was the target. He had scarcely moved from the chair in which he was sitting in. His target didn't at all look like the ruthless magus the profile had told him that he was but Shirou knew the source could be trusted. It was reliable and hadn't failed him yet.

_What was this? This new set of memories? Were they his own?_

Emiya Shirou stood, clad in his armor, ready for the raid on the infected little town. He had decided to cooperate with that Executor he had met several months ago because she was the most powerful and trustworthy one he had ever met. The two magi looked at each other in the eye and nodded. She tightened her grip on the cannon like thing she had, he clutched his swords tightly.

_It was terribly confusing. These memories couldn't be his. He was sure that he was Emiya Shirou, not Emiya Shirou. These memories were Emiya's but not his._

The church gave off an aura of darkness. It was like there something rotten or festering inside. Emiya Shirou felt uneasy approaching it. Saber had even refused to go in. Rin, however, had dragged Shirou in.

_Rin? Tohsaka Rin? These couldn't be his memories._

The hordes of undead came at him in waves. Emiya Shirou held them back, tracing weapon after weapon, firing bolt after bolt. Yet they were endless.

_Or maybe they were his memories. He had no strength of will left to resist. Slowly and warily, he gave in._

…

…

…_And they burst inside, flooding his mind._

Twin Chinese Dao. Married Blades. Black and White. Kanshou and Bakuya.

Claymore. Truly the terror of the battlefield. Even the Hound feared it. Caladbolg.

The blade of a hero. The destroyer of monster destroyed it as well in his fight against Grendel. A scarlet-black sheen. Hrunting.

The cursed spear. A fearsome demonic spear that always struck the heart. Gae Bolg.

Extremely common sword. Probably a farmer's. A nodachi. A simple rod of sharpened steel that would be extremely cumbersome to wield in battle. Monohoshizao.

An astoundingly resilient length of iron. Wielded by a hero who could defeat armies. Could cleave metal just as easily as stone. Durandal.

Chains. Even Gods could be bound with them. The heavens could be subjugated using them. Enkidu.

A brilliant shining sword. A symbol as much as a weapon. Excalibur.

_Who was he? Who was he? Was he EMIYA SHIROU or was he Emiya Shirou? It was so terribly confusing. He felt all his identity as Emiya Shirou being stripped away by the memories of EMIYA SHIROU._

Gae Dearg. Gae Buidhe. Gae Assail. Areadbhar. Luin of Celtchar. Tizona. Colada. Almace. Joyeuse. Hautclere. Durandal. Deinsleif. Harpe. Beagalltach. Moralltach. Claiomh Solais. Carnwennan. Clarent. Rhongomiant. Av—

_A flash of gold passed in front of his eyes. The very sight of it gave Emiya Shirou a sudden surge of hope. The hope was quickly washed away in the flurry of memories._

_But the determination remained._

_Emiya Shirou's identity began to struggle against EMIYA SHIROU's._

Mjolnir. Gungnir. Hǫfuð. Hrotti. Ridill. Gram. Balmung. Dyrnwyn. Hrunting. Naegling. Tyrfing. Skuofnung. Caladbolg. Kladenets. Kanshou. Bakuya. Houtengeki. Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi. Monohoshiza—.

_Emiya Shirou mentally flailed against it. But once again, the synchronized memories of EMIYA SHIROU pushed him back._

Claymore. Zweihander. Rapier. Espada. Shamshir. Kukri. Talwar. Sword. Blade.

_Now he was no longer seeing swords. He was just seeing many types of blades. An unlimited amount of them. It was like an infinite amount of them were being replicated or created within his mind._

Blade.

Blade.

Blade.

Blade. BLADE. bLade. BlaDe. BLaDE. blAde. Blade. BLADE!

BLADE!

BLADE!

BLADE!

BLADE?

BLADE?

BLade?

_Emiya Shirou struggled but it was proving to be futile._

BLADE!

_All of these blades. These swords. They were truly legendary only fit to be wielded by heroes._

BLADE!

_He wasn't a Hero._

BLADE!

_He couldn't be trusted with power. He made a dreadful mistake. A careless one. It cost the lives of many people._

UNLI—

_There were gears in the sky. A slightly dark and tinted sky. Swords decorated the ground._

BLADE!

_No._

BLADE!

_This was too much!_

BLADE!

UNLIMITED BLAD—

_A lifetime of struggles and fights for the pursuit of an ideal. A sea of sweat, blood and tears. It had somehow culminated into this._

BLADE!

_He couldn't handle this!_

BLADE!

_This was EMIYA SHIROU's ideal. He was just…_

BLADE!

_Who was he?_

BLADE!

_This was too much for -_

UNLIMITED BLADE WOR—

_Something stopped. The synchronization suddenly met an unsurpassable obstacle._

Emiya Shirou woke with a gasp. His entire body was covered in sweat and he was shivering with pain. He had nearly lost his identity in a mind struggle against EMIYA. Whether this synchronization was intentional or not was something Shirou couldn't tell. At least, he couldn't recall a memory in which he intentionally synchronized with himself.

He felt as if he had run full tilt into a door or jumped off a building, expecting a net beneath, but had hit the asphalt instead. The synchronization was going perfectly and he was rapidly coming close to something that was the core of Archer, EMIYA SHIROU. A field littered with blades with enormous gears gyrating in the sky came to his mind but the thought quickly washed away.

There was a fundamental difference between him and EMIYA now. The difference was large enough that it had actually undone the entire synchronization process. Unfortunately, it had left countless memories inside his mind that kept confusing him. He was Emiya Shirou. He could remember his name and retained his identity. He could differentiate himself from EMIYA SHIROU. But there were many other problems.

He tried getting up and immediately fell over. His legs wouldn't support him anymore. That was quite strange. He was quite sure that he still had his legs. He looked down and confirmed. Yes, his legs were still attached to him.

It suddenly occurred to Shirou that his entire thought process was getting extremely muddled. Why would he think that his legs would be broken off?

…_He was running through the ruins. War never takes kindly to buildings but Sarajevo looked worse than most cities Shirou could remember. His red sleeves fluttering, he took a leap from a building, intending to land on his target and finish him off in one blow…_

Ah yes. He had lost both of his legs against that Sealing Designate magus in Sarajevo. Shirou nodded to himself as things made sense.

Then he suddenly froze. Where the hell was Sarajevo? Shirou rubbed his temples lightly several times and then shook his head. The memory remained firmly lodged in his mind. He had lost his legs against that Sealing Designate in Sarajevo, wherever it was. Sighing, Shirou tried getting up once more.

And fell.

A pair of strong hands grabbed him and prevented him from hitting the ground. Shirou was partially alarmed and partially thankful. He looked up to see a skull staring at him. Assassin had sneaked inside the Emiya Residence.

And instantly, someone else also appeared inside the room. Or at least, someone else jumped up from the mangle of blankets on the floor, equipped herself with armor in a blast of wind and pointed an invisible weapon at Assassin. Shirou blinked.

"Saber," He said cautiously, not wanting to believe what he just saw. "Were you just sleeping with me?"

"I was, Master. I needed to remain close to you in order to protect you." She answered, completely unabashed. Shirou wryly thought that she was unashamed precisely because she had no idea on what she had just said. "You should have killed my Master sooner, Assassin. Your hesitance will be your own undoing." Saber said.

"You think that I refrained to kill your Master out of hesitation, Saber? You insult the entire legacy of Hasan bin Sabbah! I am merely here as a messenger. Rest assured that if I do need to kill him, I will do it without a moment's doubt." Assassin said. Shirou felt that he should say something. But deep down, he was feeling extremely happy that someone would kill them without a second thought. It would be the perfect end for a monster like him. He couldn't bring himself to kill himself because it would disappoint his father and family too much. But if there was someone else who would do it for him, then that would be Shirou's salvation.

"And what does your Master want?" Saber asked.

"Parley." Assassin answered. "He would like to negotiate and hopefully form an alliance."

"Hopefully? Does Shinji think that I wouldn't ally with him?" Shirou asked, a little disturbed. Were even his friends afraid of him.

"My Master is not Matou Shinji. He only acts as a temporary Master. You shall meet my Master when I shall take you to him." Assassin said.

"Master, get back." Saber said. Shirou looked uncertain.

"But we should see Assassin's Master about this." Shirou said in a slightly desperate voice.

"Master, Lancer and I form the best alliance. There is no Servant who can defeat us. There is no need for an alliance." Saber said. Shirou frowned. Saber's words held merit. There was an agonizingly long pause during which remained Shirou remained silent.

"Please, Shirou, heed my words. I did not follow you to your school as you asked. Now please do as I ask." Saber said. Shirou felt slightly surprised. Saber had finally used his name. He was now feeling much more inclined to agree with Saber. Assassin could kill him anyday but for now, he would listen to his Servant.

"Master thought you would do that. Which is why he told me to tell you that if your effuse to comply with his demands, I am to kill Matou Shinji." Assassin said calmly. And now the whole situation changed. Saber looked absolutely murderous.

"Shirou, get out of the way so that I can kill him. It will eliminate the problem altogether." Saber said in a cold tone of fury. Assassin barely looked concerned, although that could only be deduced through body posture. His face was hidden as it was.

"What makes you think you can?" Assassin asked in an amused tone.

"I could defeat a hundred of you without even revealing my Noble Phantasm." Saber said. Shirou felt himself break into a cold sweat. Saber did not say it with the air of a boast. She said it as if it was a simple cold fact. Even Assassin straightened himself.

"Well, I can tell that you are not bluffing. How sad. I had hoped that I would be able to refrain from going all out but it seems that you have forced my hand." Assassin said.

Saber stepped forward and brought her sword down where Assassin should have been. The hooded Servant had quickly scuttled away like a clothed arachnid and picked up Shirou. In one smooth motion, Assassin tore away the walls simply using his knives and fled out into the night.

"Get back here!" Saber snarled and followed.

Shirou could still see his surroundings, despite Assassin's excellent speed, albeit a little unclearly.

"Police cars?" He said stupidly. He could see numerous police cars patrolling the streets. Traffic was at an absolute minimum whereas pedestrians were few. Fuyuki had seemed to become a ghost city.

He could also see a rapidly approaching streak of blue. Apparently, Saber wasn't going to give up any time soon. Within a moment or two, Saber would take Assassin's head unless he did something about it.

"I underestimated her speed." Assassin said in a worried voice. Shirou briefly wondered whether Lancer and Ilya were also following. Saber's yells could have roused the entire neighborhood. They would be following as well unless they were out for another reason.

"Can't help it then. This will slow her down." Assassin muttered. He abruptly stopped on top of a tall building. He dropped Shirou, whose legs gave out once more. He then proceeded to take off his mask.

Shirou gasped. Assassin's left eye was a normal looking brown. But the other eye was obviously abnormal. One could tell that by its bulging size and the eyelids being sewn shut. Why had he sealed his own eye? Did it contain some horrifying power?

Saber landed and once again, raised her sword. Assassin readied himself.

"ZABANIYA!" He yelled. As if on command, the stitches on the eyelids came loose and the eye lids sprang open. A haunting red iris seemed to look out of the absurdly grotesque eyeball. Shirou couldn't see it but Saber could. She stopped and fell to her knees as if all the power had been drained from her body.

She screamed.

She screamed and continued screaming. It wasn't the scream of a hysterical woman. It wasn't the scream of sorrow or anger. It was a scream caused by the instinct, the scream of terror. Whatever Assassin had caused, it was effective enough to make even a powerful knight like Saber see nightmares. And one could only imagine what would terrify such a brave individual.

Assassin's eye sealed itself shut once more. He replaced his mask.

"I truly am sorry." Assassin said in a grief stricken voice. "I know what it feels like to see this eye but I don't know what you see now. The delusional hell is your own and that is exactly what makes it so terrifying. May you recover from this." It was strange to see a hooded figure with a mask like a skull say things like these. One would expect such a man to gloat about him, the inferior combatant, defeating her, the superior one. Shirou didn't know what to say.

His body started to feel hot as once again, synchronization slowly started to pick up pace.

Assassin picked Shirou up and started to run again. It was a bumpy journey and by the end of it, Shirou felt as if every single joint had been displaced systemically. Assassin landed in front a large house. Shirou blinked. This was certainly Shinji's and Sakura's house. But didn't Assassin say that Shinji was only a temporary Master? Then why did he bring him here?

"Approach the door and knock." Assassin said quietly. Shirou, seeing no other option, complied. The door immediately sprang open. Shinji stood inside.

"You came. I thought you had the stronger Servant." Shinji said. He stood aside as if in invitation. Shirou stepped in and immediately, a harsh smell of rotten honey invaded his mind. It was joined with another taint, one Shirou was inherently familiar with.

It was the smell that came from his nightmares. The night when he had lost his memories.

"My grandfather," Shinji said as he closed the entrance door. "Would like to meet you." He then gave Shirou a baleful look. "You really shouldn't be here." He added.

"I can see that. I was abducted. My Servant was temporarily delayed. I am sure she would come and rescue me." Shirou said but he didn't feel so confident. Saber had been screaming in such a frightened tone that Shirou doubted that she would ever be able to think rationally again.

"I doubt it." Assassin said. He materialized behind them, overshadowing them with his height. "It is true that she is an extremely strong Heroine, no doubt one with a long history, and one who has many victories under her belt. But what my Noble Phantasm does is mentally trap the target in a world of horror. A world which is filled with everything that terrifies them. It would take her two days to break out of that mental world, truly marvelous considering that the average man would be trapped forever while the average Servant would need at least a week. Sadly, I won't be able to use my eye again for quite some time. She will kill me the next time we shall meet." Assassin explained.

"Why are you telling him all of this?" Shinji said in a panicked voice.

"Because my Zabaniya has no weakness save for its absurdly high prana cost and the fact that people whose mind is too pure or too polluted will not be affected. This eye belonged to a demon and I was unfortunate enough to gaze into it and fortunate enough to gain it. I know how truly horrible it is to gaze into it and do not wish even to subject my most hated enemies to its gaze. That is why I explain it." Assassin said.

"Quite hypocritical of you. You just used it on Saber." Shirou said.

"That is because it was necessary. Just because I hate something doesn't mean I won't do it. I could have killed her since death is easier than facing your own tailor made terrors. But I am too weak to do that and thus I was forced to use my eye." Assassin said. "Now let us not keep my Master waiting any longer." Assassin added. Shinji gave the masked man a dirty look before leading them to a door. He gave Shirou a despairing look and then opened it.

The acrid smell of rotten honey and rotting flesh nearly overwhelmed Shirou. He gave Shinji an incredulous look. Shinji gave a helpless shrug. There were stairs leading down and Shinji started descending. Assassin gave Shirou a slight nudge and Shirou hesitantly followed. A dim sound of millions of insects came as soon as Shirou started going down. It steadily grew louder until they reached the bottom of the first flight of stairs. And then Shirou gasped.

Millions of worms littered the bottom of the basement. The three of them could see the bottom from where they stood. Shirou felt revolted.

"What is this?" He asked.

"My grandfather's workshop. Feel honored if he decides to make a meal out of you." Shinji said in a biting tone. It was quite obvious that Shinji harbored a great hatred of his grandfather. Even Shirou, who admitted that he was not good with reading the mood of people, could tell that. Shirou could even understand slightly why. In Shirou's opinion, no one would want to inherit such a sorcery trait like this. But then again, he remembered Kiritsugu describing that many magi grew used to their sorcery traits by the time they were five years old. If Shinji was the heir to the Matou family line, then he shouldn't be talking about his brand of magecraft like this.

"Shinji, do you have a workshop of your own?" Shirou asked hesitantly, not knowing what else to say.

"Of course not. I was born without magic circuits. And even if I did, I would have probably created my own brand of magecraft. Who would want worms crawling up his ass?" Shinji said in a disgusted tone. His face hardened. "Grandfather is further down." He said and descended. Shirou looked uncertain but Assassin gave him a slight push. Breathing deeply, Shirou followed his friend and ended up at the bottom of the basement.

The worms crawled out of the way to make a path towards the end of the chamber in which they were in. Shinji unflinchingly strode down to the end while Shirou cautiously walked. At the end of the path was a gigantic mass of red tinged worms, a whole lot of them piled on top of each other and barely moving. The pile was nearly as large as Shirou and seemed to emit a sinister energy. Even being in its presence made Shirou want to strangle Shinji for some reason. Assassin fidgeted slightly and Shirou saw him run a thumb over his knives. Shinji sweated a little and licked his lips.

"I have brought Emiya Shirou, grandfather." He said. Shirou felt a little sick. That mass of worms was Shinji's grandfather? How did he manage to procreate? A few images leapt up into Shirou's mind but he hurriedly banished them. They mostly involved scenes from a few of the magazines Shirou had been given to by Shinji several months ago. Shirou had wisely done the correct thing and burnt all of them. He still had browsed through a few of them and had felt appalled at that time.

"Greetings, Emiya Shirou. I am Matou Zouken, Shinji's grandfather. I welcome you to my house hold and my workshop." A seemingly hollow voice came from out of nowhere. It didn't seem to come just from the mass of worms. It seemed to come out of everywhere. It seemed that the owner of the voice exerted quite an effort just to speak. There was a significant pause. "Assassin, he didn't try to summon his Servant through the use of a Command Spell, didn't he?" The voice asked.

"He is still alive. You know as well as I do that I would have killed him instantly." Assassin answered.

"Satisfactory work, Assassin. Shinji, leave the workshop. Also, prevent Sakura from coming here as well." The voice said. Shinji looked as if he wanted to argue but he shrugged at Shirou, signifying his helplessness. Shirou nodded, forgiving him silently. The blue haired boy trudged up the stairs and finally, they heard the door close.

"You might be wondering why I asked you to come here." Zouken said.

"Well yes." Shirou confessed.

"It is because I need your help in winning this war. Tell me, Emiya Shirou, do you have any particular wish you want to be granted?"

"None that I can think of." Shirou admitted.

"That makes things easier then. I need the Holy Grail to die." Zouken said. Shirou was left dumbstruck. He stared at the nearly static mass of worms.

"Why would you want to do that?" He asked.

"I am the victor of the previous Holy Grail War. And unfortunately, I made the wish to become immortal. My wish was partially granted. But at the cost of having another parasite appending itself to me." Zouken explained. Shirou felt at a loss. He couldn't understand anything.

"How does that grant your wish?" He asked.

"Well, let me tell you this much. There existed inside the Grail, a Servant known as Avenger. While I had the wish to become immortal, it simply wanted to be born inside this world. My wish caused Avenger to somehow free itself from the Grail but it was extremely weak. It attached itself to me and started draining the life out of all life around it. I then realized my mistake and used my final Command Spell to order my Servant, Berserker, to destroy the Grail. Although the Grail was destroyed, Avenger remained attached to me so you can say I was unwittingly impregnated with him. He hadn't drained much life and is still at the stages of a fetus." Zouken explained.

"Wait!" Shirou yelled. "Are you trying to explain that you are the mother of Avenger? All because you desired to be immortal? How is that even possible?" Shirou said. He really wanted to throw up now. The idea of some supernatural fetus resting inside the mass of worms was truly disgusting.

"It was a mistake and a costly one. I have limited my intake of nutrition and hope to die before Avenger can manifest itself. As long as he remains attached to me, the rate of decay of my soul is nearly zero and so I have false immortality. But it is a painful one. Avenger's mere presence is enough to make me feel that a needle is being gradually pushed through a finger while it is being slowly roasted. This feeling emanates through each of my worms and I feel all of it. And the terrifying fact is that Avenger isn't even consciously doing it." Zouken answered. Shirou felt uncertain. He felt slightly sympathetic but the idea of failing and killing even more people was large enough to make him hesitate.

A sudden thrill of prana emanated from the Command Spells on Shirou's hand. Assassin noticed the sudden glow.

"Impossible! She broke out in forty five minutes?" Assassin said in a terrified voice. "No one should be able to do that! She gazed into the eye of Shaytan!" He added, as if Shirou needed to know which person he stole that eye from. "Master. Allow me to investigate. If she is such a terrifying opponent, we would need all the information we can get on her." Assassin said.

"You will stay here, Assassin. The matter has been taken care of." Zouken's voice came. Shirou felt another glow on his hand. Instinctively, he knew that Saber was searching for him. "She cannot find this place, I can assure you." Zouken added. Assassin looked as if he really wished to dash out and confront the blonde swordswoman once more. Shirou realized that he needed to keep the conversation running.

"What do you propose?" He asked, not actually thinking about anything.

"I have made a different Grail that shall quickly consume most of the Servants and will be capable of creating a miracle. It is different from the Einzbern's Grail since it actually hunts down the Servants and eats them. If all goes according to plan, I will be able to make a wish in less than a week." Zouken said.

"But that's just wrong! Even though I disapprove of this War, at least it gives all participants a fair chance in winning! But you are just going to ignore the rules out of a selfish desire!" Shirou said.

"Don't tell me what is right or wrong, foolish boy. You yourself killed two hundred people only a few hours ago." Zouken said in a cutting voice. Shirou felt the blow in his gut. The disembodied voice reminded him exactly why he was so unworthy and monstrous. "And I wish to die not only out of a selfish desire but a practical one as well. The identity of Avenger is that of Angra Mainyu, the Persian God of Evil. Imagine, an entity comprised purely of evil awakening. What would happen? What sort of havoc would it wreck? Wouldn't it be better to put it down before it is born? I am performing a kindness to everyone and I will get my wish as a result as well!" Zouken said.

"Didn't you try any other method to die?" Shirou asked quietly. The desire for death was no longer alien to him. He had felt the wish to leave this world nearly ten years ago. He was feeling enough self loathing to have a death wish once more. But he didn't like the fact that the Grail War would be selfishly ended like this. It didn't seem right to him.

But then again, only a few hours ago, he had tried to do the right thing and it cost the lives of nearly two hundred people. Not to mention that policeman who was probably just surprised seeing a bicyclist going over the speed limit. Not to mention a knife wielding man who looked like he stepped out of a horror movie rip-off and a monstrous _thing_ that looked as if it stepped out of a block buster horror movie.

"I have tried many magical and mundane methods. I have tried self immolation, self poisoning, submerging myself in acid, submerging myself in base, crushing myself under weights, explosions, making my worms eat each other, having other worms eat me, permitting various animals eat me, exorcism, petrification, death curses, rune based entrapment, temporal entanglement, demonic invocation, circuit extraction and much more. And I still haven't died. I can only see salvation through the Holy Grail." Zouken said.

Shirou felt slightly overwhelmed. He didn't know that so many kinds of thaumaturgical practices existed. But then again, he only barely knew Reinforcement, Projection, Structural Grasping and Alteration; with Alteration being his weakest point. These four practices were known to almost every mage on Earth. They weren't even incorporated in a mages school of practice because everyone naturally assumed that the average mage would know about them.

A part of Emiya Shirou yelled at him to not be stupid and accept the proposal. It might even end up making the situation better. He had made mistakes so it would be correct of him to to follow someone else.

But a deeper, truer but quieter part of him resisted. It was a part that had been unwittingly influences by Emiya Kiritsugu. It was a part that had been polished by the synchronization with Archer EMIYA. It was something that had practically defined what Emiya Shirou was.

It told him to not listen to do the mass of worms that was Matou Zouken. It told him to find a way to get out of the house and reunite with Saber, after which they would somehow find Kiritsugu.

Shirou found himself in a bind. What should he do?

* * *

The Mage Association was horrifyingly modern as compared to the Fraga Clan. They knew how to operate telegraphs and gramophones and some of the mages even had microscopes and cigarette lighters. And in turn, Bazett Fraga McRemitz was a surprisingly modern mage, even by Mage Association standards. She knew how to make phone calls and operate a vending machine. Right now, she was sitting on a park bench, drinking coffee from a can. It was good coffee and Bazett greatly enjoyed it on an early winter morning. Especially considering that she didn't want to risk using some runes to warm herself up.

She had been too terrified in booking a room in a motel or inn because she didn't know the exact procedure. And besides, after what happened to Lord Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, she wasn't sure she wanted to book a hotel. She preferred to stay in inconspicuous places at day to rest. She moved about at night. Berserker growled beside her, invisible to all but her.

The third day of the Holy Grail War had already started yet not a single Servant had been killed. From what she recalled of the records in the Clock Tower on the Third and Fourth Holy Grail Wars, someone always died in the early stages. Avenger had died on the fourth day while Assassin was stupidly eliminated on the first.

"Well, as long as I am safe. I don't mind." Bazett muttered. Berserker growled once again as he noticed a stray mongrel look quizzically at the Irish woman before going about its business. Berserker growled at it but once again, only Bazett heard him. She frowned.

"I should lower your Mad Enhancement ranking." Bazett muttered.

"You should do that, heathen, for a mad Servant is possibly the worst servant you can have." A voice rasped. Bazett looked up to see Sancraid Phahn standing at the other end of the park.

And beside him floated a hooded woman. There was no doubt about it. She was a Caster.

"Berserker!" She called out. And immediately collapsed as she felt her magical circuits being set on fire as her Servant materialized.

"▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅▅▅" Berserker roared in defiance. As soon as he appeared, he dashed forward, covered the entire distance of the park and thrust his spear at Caster.

Sancraid jumped in between Caster and Berserker. Berserker thrust his demonic red spear at the reptilian man and the air briefly shimmered as the bounded field weakly tried to repel the weapon. It failed and shattered and the red spear continued its way to stab Sancraid. He blocked the red spear with his silver halberd.

Sadly, the only thing he managed to do was buy Caster time to disappear. He himself was thrown several meters away, crashed into a tree and fell into a heap on the ground. The halberd was miraculously undamaged. It flew into a magnificent arc, hit a different tree trunk with the edged side and managed to completely chop off the tree. Said tree fell on Sancraid Phahn.

Berserker turned around but froze as he saw Caster reappear besides his Master, grinning wickedly and holding a twisted dagger. If he would have been sane, he would have spouted extremely colorful language. But he wasn't and there was no time to do so.

"I am not sorry to do this, Berserker." Caster cackled. The dagger fell.

"▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅▅▅"

Berserker roared as he tried to cover the insignificant distance that had seemed so small only a second ago. But despite his speed, he was still too late. Caster had specifically revealed herself because she knew how foolhardy Berserker and his Master were.

The tip hit Bazett's chest. There weren't any immediate results. Except that Bazett's breathing seemed to become easier and it looked as if a great weight had been lifted off her chest. Berserker, on the other hand, seemed to undergo a tremendous transformation as his whole form unwound itself and his features returned to normal. By the end of his transformation, Berserker looked like a tall handsome man with long hair and who had a rather tight fitting bodysuit that left nothing to imagination. A rather angry, tall and handsome man with long hair and who wore a rather tight fitting body suit that left little to imagination. Berserker seemed to have returned to his normal form but his eyes were still showing extreme madness.

"Your Command Spells are mine, Berserker!" Caster cackled.

And got punched in the face by Bazett Fraga McRemitz. Caster stumbled backwards, surprised that someone had managed to hit her at all. It was a weak punch since Bazett was still recovering from her pain but to be able to hurt a Servant is a worthwhile deed in itself. Bazett tried to land another few punches, only for her to be intercepted by Sancraid.

"Bad, heathen. Sit!" He growled as he swung the halberd. He suddenly paused in mid swing, abandoned his weapon and jumped back as Berserker, quite sane by now, tried to stab him.

"**COME BACK HERE AND FIGHT LIKE A MAN!**" Berserker roared. The Warp Spasm had ceased but that didn't mean that he was truly sane. Bazett staggered, feeling extremely dizzy.

"_By the Power of my Command Spell, Berserker, I command you to_-" Caster began to speak. But she was interrupted by Berserker leaping at her and trying to impale her on his spear. Berserker didn't use his Noble Phantasm simply because it would take too much time for him to charge up his attack. Besides, a combat oriented Servant like him was superior than a magus like her.

"-_not kill me!_" Caster hastily amended. The effect took place and Berserker shuddered as he felt the Command Spell compel him.

"**CAN'T KILL YOU, HUH? THEN I'LL KILL HIM!**" Berserker growled and raced at Sancraid. Bazett had gotten up by now and was attempting to trot away from danger.

"_You can't kill him either!_" Caster hastily added. The only reason Sancraid was still alive was because he was the supply of spare Command Spells. He had already bestowed on her an extra three, just in case Berserker acted violently. She had already wasted two. Who knew men like Berserker could be so loyal?

"**CAN'T KILL HIM TOO?**"Berserker howled. He then prepared to plunge his own spear into his own heart.

"_You can't kill yourself!_"Caster said quickly. She really needed a combat oriented Servant or else she wouldn't have wasted so many Command Spells.

"**CAN'T KILL MYSELF?**" Berserker roared. He grabbed his spear from both ends, raised it high and prepared to snap the magnificent spear across his knee.

"_You cannot destroy your own Noble Phantasm!"_ Caster yelled, getting extremely frustrated. She now had only two Command Spells left, both of them were the ones she had stolen from the female Master of Berserker. Were the Gods conspiring against her even in this era?

"_Berserker, by the power of my Command Spell, I command you to kill your previous Master with your Noble Phantasm_." Caster said. Both she and Sancraid were in no position to deal with that woman. Caster and severely underestimated both that woman's and Berserker's strength. She decided to play it safe. She knew now, by virtue of being Berserker's Master, just what his Noble Phantasm was capable of. It was truly practical Noble Phantasm and the second reason why she wanted Berserker as her Servant. If Berserker would kill his previous Master with it then no force would be able to revive her. It was imperative that se die in such a manner because Caster knew that she could be reassigned Command Spells by the Holy Grail. Which was a risk Caster wasn't willing to take.

Berserker shivered in his place before trotting towards his retreating Master. The exhausted woman hadn't even managed to walk a few feet away. Berserker was resisting against the Command Spell but even he had a limit. He charged his spear with prana.

"**GAE-**" He roared. His eyes showed his reluctance and fury.

There was a sound of gigantic approaching footsteps.

And before he could even finish speaking, he was slapped away like a ball.

"My oh my, this is very messy isn't it, Lancer?" A small white girl said in a sweet voice.

"If you say so." Lancer said in a confused voice. He had hit Berserker in the face with his gigantic stone spear. Ilya had wanted him to kill him but Lancer insisted on fighting Berserker on even terms. Ilya had finally given in and allowed Lancer to do whatever he wanted to do. So Lancer did what he wanted to do. The Hero of Greece suspected that he broken both Lancer's nose and pride and most certainly broken at least one of the two.

The blue warrior got up and faced the new arrivals. Lancer was impressed. Berserker had received a hit from him and had only gotten off with wounded pride! Not even a single droplet of blood had spilled from his nostril!

"See these two pieces of trash, Lancer?" Ilya said in a sweet voice which showed all the contempt for Caster and Sancraid. Caster felt seriously threatened. Sancraid backed away slightly.

"Er, you mean Caster and that man-I mean human- I mean individual?" Lancer said, amending his statement several times, unsure which category Sancraid belonged to.

"Kill them." Ilya said in a melodious voice.

Caster quickly grabbed Sancraid and disappeared before anyone else could even move. Lancer looked around stupidly, surprised at Caster's speed. Berserker looked angry but hadn't moved an inch. But now that Caster had seemingly disappeared, he was now guarding over Bazett, who had collapsed against a wall.

"**OVER MY DEAD BODY!**"He roared, waving his spear threateningly.

"Calm down, idiot. We are not going to kill her. I am going to take her home with me." Ilya said.

Berserker looked confused.

"**NO KILL HER?**" He asked in a loud but puzzled voice. Ilya shook her head. Berserker seemed to relax slightly but his grip on his spear didn't loosen.

"**LANCER! WE FIGHT!**" Berserker roared. Lancer looked puzzled.

"Right now?" He asked. He glanced at Ilya to see whether he had her permission. The white haired girl simply nodded, giving her consent. Berserker, on the other hand, seemed to reconsider his statement.

"**LATER!**" Berserker howled and then disappeared. Lancer, Ilya and Bazett looked at the spot from where he had vanished. When it was obvious that nothing else was about to happen, Ilya turned around.

"Lancer, pick our guest up." She said. Lancer scooped up the Irish woman easily and began walking behind his Master.

"Why are you helping me?" Bazett said. The toll of maintaining Berserker was slowly wearing off and in a few hours, she would be able to function normally again. But she was surprised by the behavior shown by this Einzbern. Normally, the opposing magi would have killed his opponent simply out of spite or some other reason. In fact, it was quite a necessary thing to do in order to prevent her reentering the Grail War. Out of all participants, Bazett was the best in combat and thus the most likely to steal a Servant by killing his Master. Yet this Einzbern hadn't ordered her humungous Servant to kill her.

"Don't get me wrong. If you try anything even vaguely resembling an attack or assassination, Lancer will crush your skull with his bare hands." Ilya said.

"No I will not! How am I going to wash my hands after doing that? I can't always run over to the Mion river and I can't even enter the bathroom!" Lancer objected.

"Alright, if you try anything even vaguely resembling an attack or assassination, Lancer will bash your brains out." Ilya said, amending her statement.

"I don't people in such a humiliating fashion! What about my pride as a Heroic Spirit?" Lancer objected once more.

"Screw that. If you try anything, I am personally going to shoot you in the face." Ilya said nastily.

"What? You can do that?" Bazett said in a surprised tone. Ilya turned to look at Bazett in the face. A man walked by, blithely ignoring an eight foot tall man carrying a ten foot long spear and a red haired woman along with a white haired girl. But he subconsciously avoided them, without even seeing them.

"Oh trust me, my dear Enforcer, I am quite capable of killing people in cold blood. I could do that before my father rescued me from the Einzberns. A gun is simply a mundane method for doing what I am capable of doing." Ilya smiled.

"I never said that I object to killing her if the need arises. I merely said that I will not kill her in such a humiliating fashion." Lancer pointed out.

"Oh shut up, Lancer." Ilya said in an irritated voice. Lancer, well aware of the dangers of an irritated woman, immediately shut up.

"You are lucky that you were within Lancer's vicinity. If he hadn't sensed Caster, you might as well have been dead. Which reminds me, why didn't Caster force Berserker to kill you?" Ilya said as they stepped inside the Emiya estate. Bazett felt her circuits tingle as they passed through a bounded field. She felt slightly surprised. She hadn't been able to sense the field at all. Ilya noticed her prisoner's bewildered look.

"A good piece of magecraft, isn't it? Daddy knitted it to keep others out. But you didn't answer my question. Why didn't Caster force Berserker to kill you?" Ilya said as she slid open the door.

"Berserker swore a geas to protect me. Due to that, as soon as the contact between us was severed, he rebelled. He tried to kill Caster but Caster forbade him from doing so through the use of a Command Spell. When that failed, he tried to kill her companion and was forbidden once more. He then tried to commit suicide and was restricted once more. He finally decided to snap his spear in half and was even forbidden from doing that. I couldn't escape in all that time he bought for me. In fact, he was about to involuntarily kill me when you arrived." Bazett explained. She saw Ilya and Lancer look at her with stunned looks. Ilya was still standing at the door way while Lancer's grip had fallen lax.

"He made her waste five Command Spells?" Ilya said faintly.

"Are you sure he was in the Berserker class? He rebelled most intelligently!" Lancer added. Bazett thought for a moment.

"Well, I think the rank of Mad Enhancement fell from A+ to D at least." Bazett conceded. Some color returned to both Master and Servant's faces. Ilya held the door open and stepped aside as if to indicate to Bazett that she should enter first. Bazett hesitantly entered. She knew was effectively a prisoner. However, she had faith that Berserker would find a way to escape the clutches of caster and come to her rescue. He had sworn a geas over it. A geas was a promise even more sacred than the connection between Master and Servant. It would be presumptuous of her to assume that the great Hound of Ulster wouldn't be able to break free of Caster's hold.

Unless of course, Bazett thought with a pang of jealous anger, the man decided to stay with her for the sake of the friendship of her thighs.

"Well," Ilya said as she sat down next to the table in the dining room. "Welcome to the Emiya estate, miss…"

"Bazett McRemitz." Bazett said, deliberately hiding her middle name.

"Miss McRemitz. I am keeping you prisoner for the duration of the Holy Grail War just so that you may remain safe. I also require your assistance that is why I am keeping you alive. Let us cooperate now, shall we?" Ilya smiled. Bazett felt her blood run cold.

The clock struck two in the morning. It was still the third day of the Holy Grail War.

* * *

Emiya Kiritsugu and Hisau Maiya raced through the Einzbern forest. It had been a paltry matter of breaking out of police car. Kiritsugu's Origin easily allowed him to break apart restrictions, whether they were handcuffs or car locks, all it took was running a little prana and they were rendered useless. The problem was that nearly every other police car in the vicinity was now hot on their track. Kiritugu cursed. He thought that the police had been merely overly alert when he had blown the Tohsaka residence sky high. Turned out that Servants had caused enough of a ruckus to make the entire police force jumpy. From what he had gathered, nearly six miles of the main road had been ripped apart because of a Servant battle, along with a police man dead and two hundred causalities due to another's stupidity. The law enforcement was now swarming all over Fuyuki and he had also noticed several agents of the Holy Church covertly hypnotizing witnesses. Kiritsugu had reached his breaking point. It was time to get some stuff done.

Seven years ago, He and Maiya had come and buried the excess of all their weaponry here. It was a secret cache of armament and one which Kiritsugu had been unwilling to part with, much to his own surprise.

They reached a specific rock. Kiritsugu hastily checked the specific markings on it and nodded tersely. He and Maiya started to remove the dirt on the ground with their hands until they uncovered a crate painted with the same color as the soil it was buried in. Kiritsugu had specifically buried it in such a shallow hole so that it could be hauled out without much effort in digging it out. He opened it.

Several leather bags, a box made out of rosewood and two smaller boxes made out of oak were stored inside. Kiritsugu took out the first of the smaller boxes and opened it. It was filled with all the passports and required identification and papers to safely get out of the country. Unfortunately, the box only contained the papers for him and Maiya. He took out Maiya's and handed it to her.

"We are getting out of the country. Head to our contact in Shinto and get him to forge the documents for Shirou and Ilya. We are going to Italy." He said shortly. Maiya nodded as she took the photos. She had unzipped one of the leather bags, opened it and taken out a plastic bag inside it and opened it. Inside the plastic bag were two Glock 17s along with four clips. She took one out, slammed the clip in place and tucked the gun in the back of her pants. She tossed the other gun and two clips to Kiritsugu who deftly caught them. Kiritsugu tucked his gun and spare clip inside his coat pocket. He took out a set of papers and passport, put them in his other pocket. He then put all the excess papers back in the oak box, closed and set it on fire using one of the fire spells of the Emiya Crest. No need leaving around evidence.

"It is not required for me to say it but let me emphasize the need to remain incognito. We are wanted right now. We may not be known publically but it wouldn't be long before we are. Change your clothes and appearance. I can only allow you to carry that Glock. The rest of the armament shall remain here. Maiya, don't fail me." Kiritsugu said. His voice had now fully become emotionless. Maiya merely nodded and headed away. Kiritsugu watched her for a few seconds as his normal emotions returned for a brief moment. He looked like a man who had just lost everything. He then returned his attention to the boxes. The rosewood box was opened and he withdrew the Thompson Contender. He then took out two bullets from the rosewood box. Two would be enough. He shut the rosewood box and put it back inside the large crate. The other oak box was now opened and Kiritsugu retrieved a small bottle resembling an eye drop container and a miniature spray bottle. He put these two bottles in his third coat pocket. Finally, he took out two silver spheres and put them in the same pocket as the Contender. The oak box was shut and put back in.

He took out the largest leather bag with some difficulty, considering how heavy it was, and opened it. Four different sets of clothes were stored inside, wrapped in clear plastic. All consisted of a coat, shirt, tie, scarf, pants, gloves and a wide brimmed hat of some sort. All of these clothes were had fire proof lining and could be reinforced to become strong enough to block small arms fire. They were also resistant to magecraft from the outside, reducing the effect of offensive spells somewhat. Another characteristic shared between all of the clothes was their color. All of them were quite dark and were in fact not flamboyant enough to garner attention. Kiritsugu chose the dark blue set and proceeded to change his garments. After putting on the coat and adjusting his tie, he replaced all things from his black coat to the one he was wearing. He then repacked the entire crate and shoved it back inside the hole. He hastily recovered it with dirt and then walked two miles until he reached the Einzbern Castle of Fuyuki.

During the Fourth Grail War, Kiritsugu had come under attack from the Master of Lancer, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, and had successfully managed to repel him. The battle had taken place in this castle and even ten years after that encounter, the damage of the skirmish was still present. The door way still looked as if someone had carved it to pieces. The hallway looked as if several pellets had exploded inside, which was the truth considering that Kiritsugu had hidden at least ten Claymore mines inside, all of which had failed to harm Kayneth. Kiritsugu, however, was not interested in his former base's appearance. He just wanted to wash his hair. And the Castle fortunately was modern enough to have plumbing and running water.

He went to the second floor to the bedchambers. He went inside the bathroom and fished about for the thing he was looking for. He found an entire bottle full, not surprising considering that he never had to use it ten years ago. He sighed and then poured the stuff on his head, spreading it through his hair. After twenty terse minutes, he washed his head.

The mages back at the Clock Tower were a narcissistic lot. The old ones sometimes dyed their white hair to feel young again. Of course, like all mage idiots, they used hair potions made from mysterious components that dyed their hair the required color nearly permanently. Nearly permanently, because the dye could be removed although another potion was required to counteract the first.

The fight against the Einzbern had given Kiritsugu plenty of scars. One of the most blatantly obvious ones was his snow white hair. All of Kiritsugu's hair had somehow turned white because of one of the younger Einzbern managing to hit him with a successful spell. Kiritsugu's magically reinforced clothing had managed to keep the damage to a minimum and Kiritsugu had shot the Einzbern. The white hair, however, had been most inconvenient and had forced Kiritsugu to use the potion for changing hair color. He had dyed his black again to have some semblance to normality. However, now the situation had forced him to change his appearance. It was time to wash out the dye.

Kiritsugu had always kept the hair color potion in his Magus Killer years because it was one of the few chemicals that couldn't be washed out by purely mundane methods. He also kept the potion remover. These two chemicals were very handy in case he needed to change his appearance quickly. Right now, he thought as he stared into the mirror looking at his white haired self, he needed to re-dye his hair a more normal color. He fished out the hair color potion, and dunked it over his head. The color spread across each strand until finally Kiritsugu thought it was complete. He combed his dark brown hair thoroughly as he looked in the mirror. He now looked completely different. Satisfied with his transformation, Kiritsugu removed his prosthetic right hand.

The battle against the Einzbern had been harsh. Kiritsugu had spent nearly all of his Contender bullets. Only six remained, with two in his pocket and four in the rose wood box. Old Man Acht had been the worse and he was the one who had cut off Kiritsugu's right arm up till the forearm using his alchemic wires. He had also managed to gouge out Kiritsugu's left eye. The arm had been replaced with a second hand puppet prosthetic. It was a most magnificent piece of workmanship and even Kiritsugu, who normally disdained magecraft, was amazed by it. It moved like a regular arm, he even retained his sense of touch. It could interact with spiritual matter although Kiritsugu found no use of this feature. The hand could extend up to ten feet from the wrist and was still strong enough for the entire affair to be used as an emergency grappling hook. Except that instead of a hook, it ended in a hand. And it also contained a secret compartment. The compartment itself could only be opened when the puppet prosthetic was removed.

Kiritsugu opened the secret compartment and shook the entire prosthetic until five Contender bullets rattled out. These bullets were significantly different from his usual Contender bullets because there was some strange sort of markings on them. These markings were cuneiform, one of the oldest known forms of human script and the language used to inscribe the Epic of Gilgamesh. They were the Middle Eastern version of futhark runes. These inscriptions were activated by a certain incantation when loaded into the Contender and could chase their target until they hit or they were somehow blocked or destroyed. Kiritsugu had been a pragmatic man his entire life and he truly lived up to his reputation of being willing to use his body as a tool. He had used the bones of severed arm to craft these five bullets. It hadn't been easy since most of the soul of his arm had died and only the finger bones could be used to create them. If all of his arm's soul had survived, the bone could have been used to create another twenty five bullets. It had been a shame that so much of his arm had gone to waste.

Kiritsugu sighed as he focused outside briefly with his jewel eye. The lost eyeball had to replaced with a jewel eye and it was bought for nearly half a million pounds. It could give him both telescopic and microscopic vision but that was it. The only reason it was made from a gemstone was because its telescopic abilities required a chockfull of od that needed a channeling agent. Silver had been out of the question since it was so brittle, quartz barely conducted prana while gold was impractical because it couldn't hold much prana at all. Thus, Kiritsugu had reluctantly settled for a false gemstone eye with a plastic coated cornea. It still hadn't been enough to stop people from noticing the light being uncannily reflected off the iris but it had been small enough got people to dismiss it as a trick of light.

Kiritsugu walked out of the Einzbern Castle. The Contender, the two rib bullets and the five arm bullets along with the two silver orbs were in his bulky hidden breast pocket. The eye drop container and spray bottle was in another. The Glock 17 and its two clips were in the third. He was dressed in dark blue with a fedora to top it off. His dark brown hair waved in the early morning breeze. After another four hour walk, he exited the Einzbern grounds and entered the barely urban areas of Shinto. Kiritsugu was exhausted however he refused to let that exhaustion get to him. He quickly bought a sandwich and a juice for breakfast. He then proceeded to hail a taxi. Getting inside, he ordered the driver to go to Mount Enzou.

There was a reason why Kiritsugu had destroyed the Tohsaka Mansion. He had discovered the reason why Tokiomi had forgiven him so long ago. The Tohsaka had laid down an impressive network of crystal node all over the city, making it easy for them to scry at nearly any position. Kiritsugu had discovered nine hundred and forty nodes and had to grudgingly respect the amount of forethought Tokiomi had applied. That man wasn't kidding when he said that he had learned to adjust inside mundane society. Three hundred nodes focused on the main roads, malls, parking areas, commercial sectors, residential areas and parks. Kiritsugu was much more impressed by the other six hundred which had been placed in alleys, streets, warehouses and areas where even Kiritsugu wouldn't go without at least having a firearm by his side. Forty of the remaining nodes concentrated in the four main points where the Grail could be materialized, that is the Tohsaka Manor, Ryuudouji Temple, The Fuyuki Church and the field where the Grail had materialized ten years ago and had proceeded to suck the life out nearly everyone in the vicinity.

Of course, the entire network was rendered useless if the main scrying crystal could be destroyed. With the Tohsaka out of the game and the main scrying crystal in pieces, Kiritsugu could wander around without fear of being stopped. He could now finish the entire ritual by manually detonating the explosives he had laid down.

At eleven in the morning, on the third day of the Holy Grail War, the Magus Killer Emiya Kiritsugu arrived at the base of Mount Enzou and proceeded to climb the steps. Half way up, he got the shock of his life.

"Hello, father. Please don't tell me that you forgot about me already?" Archer said, standing several steps above and smiling sardonically as he looked down. The black and white blades in his hands glinted slightly. "I knew that you would try to stop the ritual. A true hero would immediately spring into action after seeing all this calamity. And so I searched in all the possible places where you might act to hinder the Ritual. Believe me, it took me the entire night and most of the day to find the hidden explosives. But now that I have found them, I must regretfully tell you that I can't allow you to disturb the ritual." The red coated Servant declared. Kiritsugu could only stare as he saw his entire plan crashing about his head.

**Aaaand done! Whew! This was one of the hardest chapters I have ever done and I believe I have missed a few spots as well! If you find any spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes, plot holes, contradictions, objections, unacceptable breaks from canon, deus ex machine and ass pulls, please let me know! I'll try to remedy them.**

**However, if someone objects that I have turned Kiritsugu into a magical Japanese Batman then hold it. Kiritsugu 'IS' the Japanese Magical Batman. Thine argument is invalid.**

**Another thing is that I thought that everyone uses runes as an excuse for inscription magic, even the Japanese and the Chinese (only in other fanfics, not in canon as of my knowledge) magi use them. I think that the Middle Eastern would use cuneiform (quite practical), the Egyptians might use hieroglyphics (quite impractical), the Japanese and Chinese using their own character systems and the futhark system being utilized by the Celts, the Welsh, and maybe Scandinavians. After all, it's not the word themselves that power the magecraft, they are simply a means for the magus to realize his mysteries. The same quality of result can be achieved by a runes master as that of a cuneiform master. The only languages that carry power all on their own are the Unified Language (Kurogiri Satsuki) and Divine Words (Medea of Colchis/Caster). Although it should be noted that the Unified Language is greater in rank than Divine Words** **and cannot be rejected while** **Divine Words are powerful words which can even affect nature but their affect can be cancelled by a high enough rank in Magical Resistance.**

**Also, the reason why Caster didn't personally kill Bazett shall be explained later so don't bombard me with questions now. Although a few of you might be able to figure out why.**

**And finally, the ranting section! All the once again, I must say that whatever revelations that shall be unveiled here might have already been discovered a long time ago and I am merely making a fool out of myself by ranting.**

**Again.**

**Did anyone notice a similarity between Uryu Ryuunosuke and Emiya Shirou? If you answered red hair, you are right. Ryuunosuke's hair is much more flamboyant as compared to Shirou's subdued color. Even their eyes match a bit as well as the fact they are quite tall as compared to the average Japanese man. But it makes the mind run, doesn't it? What if Emiya Shirou is actually distantly related to Ryuunosuke? What if Emiya Shirou is biologically Uryu Shirou? I mean, why the hell not? We have had Emiya Shirou, Kotomine Shirou (Fate Apocrypha) and Sahashi Shirou (In Flight). Someone contact Type-Moon. Uryu Shirou needs to be born!**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please do review.**


	5. The Shift of Paradigms

**Chapter Five: The Shift of Paradigms**

It was sometimes after midnight when Archer walked into the Fuyuki Park. As a Servant of the Archer class, he had the Class Skill of Independent Action. His ranked B+ under Rin, meaning that he could remain in this world for at least another 71 hours. Archer snorted. An extra day as compared to the normal two days. It wasn't much to talk about. It was only because Rin was a superb mage that even his mediocre stats had been pushed to such a limit. He had enough prana to materialize Caladbolg II another hundred times and Gae Bolg or Hrunting fifty times. He could materialize Unlimited Blade Works ten times. His signature weapons, Kanshou and Bakuya, could be traced nearly two thousand more times. However, Excalibur would drain his entire reserves in one go while Caliburn would drain three quarters. Archer shrugged. He had no interest in fighting anymore. He was going to disappear in another 70 hours and 55 minutes and return to the Throne of Heroes only to get back to the daily grind of appearing in various areas, razing everything to the ground and generally purging all enemies of humanity. Since he was free, e could spend his time leisurely. He was going to do something very unheroic.

He was going to act selfishly.

And right now, he wished to see how his original world and this world were different. Being a Counter Guardian, he was aware of the Principle of Multiple Worlds or Alternate Timelines as one might say. He wasn't conversant with the actual theory and mechanics but having visited enough of them, he didn't need to be.

The park was quite normal looking for the average human albeit feeling extremely sinister. Archer, being a Servant, could feel the effects of magecraft all around him. A terrible tragedy had befallen in this area, a literal curse of some sort. He looked around, surveying the entire area with his hawk like eyes. The flora of this area looked as if it was half dead. The grass was yellow. The trees had no leaves. The bushes looked like clumps of thorny wood. Archer couldn't recall plants behaving this way in his life. Archer could only guess that although the Grail had materialized in this area, the manner in which it had granted its wish to the winner was different from the one in his world.

And then Archer suddenly started to synchronize. This was the third time already. The first time was when he had arrived in this world and the second time was during the chase through the streets of Fuyuki. Archer immediately dematerialized. Synchronization didn't cripple him or be painful enough however it interfered with his thought processes and senses. It would be safer for him to remain invisible to the mundane eye just in case. And if a Servant spotted him then he would just have to fight without his senses.

_The reddened sky…_

Well that was quite a typical start of memories.

_The floating orb in the heavens…_

Yes yes, very original.

_Maiya nee-san…_

Wait, there was something different. For one thing, this woman never figured into the equation. For the matter, Kiritsugu himself never figured into the equation. That old man should have died five years ago according to his world's time. Yet here he was, alive and blowing things up just like he had learned from various other Enforcers during his life as a human.

_Ilya…_

She had been rescued? Well, that was good. The poor girl deserved this life. It was such a pity that she was cursed to live such a short life. Archer remembered rescuing her. His rescue had been in vain.

_Spaghetti…_

Alright, these memories were the most redundant as well. And spaghetti of all things! Did he have some sort of attachment to this food? Why not swordfish or okanomiyaki?

_Sakura…._

Ah yes, his junior. She had been quite a wonderful girl as far as Archer recalled. Quite different than most other women he knew, like Tohsaka Rin or his beloved Saber. He had also always felt that she was hiding something. He never found out why since as soon as he had graduated, he had set out to become a hero. A stupider decision had never been made before. Even his plan to jump in front of Berserker, this world's Lancer, was a wiser decision in retrospect.

_Shinji…_

Now this was interesting. When he had seen this world's Shinji screaming like a little girl, hugging Emiya Shirou from the back as he rode on a bicycle while Berserker and Assassin fought over a stretch of several miles, he thought that this Shinji was the same cowardly Matou Shinji he knew and tolerated. Apparently not. Interesting memory but not quite relevant.

_Spaghetti…_

Again with the spaghetti? What was up with this Emiya Shirou? Did Kiritsugu accidentally drop him on his head when he rescued him? What was this sudden fixation on spaghetti?

_Blade…_

Oh, now the synchronization had reached the point where both his and Emiya Shirou's mind had nearly melted together.

_Blade_…

_Blade…_

_Blade…_

_bLade…_

_bLADe…_

_BladE…_

_Unlimited…_

_BLADE…._

_Blade…_

_BLadE…_

_bLADE…_

_Unlimited Blade…._

_BlAdE…_

_bLaDe…_

_BLAdE…_

_blade…_

_Unlimited Blade Work…_

Abruptly, the synchronization broke. Archer shook himself. Having his mind melted together with his alternate self's wasn't unpleasant however it made him feel slightly dizzy. However, he was quite aware of how Emiya Shirou might be feeling. He had even deduced the reason why the synchronization had been interrupted.

Simply put, Reality Marbles were reflections of a magus's inner world which was imposed upon outer world to form a world egg inside which the laws of reality were rewritten in accordance to the magus's mindset. If the magus's mind was not truly warped enough, the Reality Marble would not materialize into existence.

And herein lay the hindrance. Because of a single mistake, Emiya Shirou had killed quite a lot of people. The guilt of such an action had actually dealt such a blow on his mentality that one could say that he was no longer insane. Archer would be the very first to say that he himself was crazy. Who else would live a life following a set of impossible ideals and later give up his life over them? Only after death did he become selfish enough and even then, his selfishness was paltry as compared to the selfishness a normal man showed. Archer knew that he was insane but he couldn't do anything about it.

The Emiya Shirou of this world, however, was a completely different matter. This was a man whose efforts had backfired so spectacularly that a normal man would go insane with guilt. Emiya Shirou, who was already insane, would also feel guilty to such a degree that he would actually become sane, albeit in a very twisted manner.

The boy named Emiya Shirou would never become a hero out of fear of hurting others through his own efforts.

The boy named Emiya Shirou would never put the well being of others before his out of fear of hurting others through his own efforts.

The boy named Emiya Shirou would never follow the footsteps of EMIYA SHIROU out of fear of hurting others through his own efforts.

The boy named Emiya Shirou would never die on a hill of swords out of fear of hurting others through his own efforts.

The boy named Emiya Shirou would never be able to reach the pinnacle of EMIYA SHIROU's stupid heroism, Unlimited Blade Works, because he would be too afraid of hurting others through his own efforts.

Of course, such a trauma would affect him for life. Emiya Shirou wouldn't exactly be called sane except in comparison to Archer. Just as Archer was completely fearless, Emiya Shirou would be completely fearful. And the root of this would be ironically the same sentiment.

They both wished to save people. However, while Archer helped people; Emiya Shirou would stay away, believing that he would only burden and hurt them.

Archer smirked slightly. He would have even chuckled at the unfairness of it all. Was every single version of him out there cursed? He had been tempered by the fire and become a Sword at the cost of hundreds of people. This Emiya Shirou had been straightened relatively at the cost of hundreds. Was the killing of so many people required to affect him in every world? It was stupid, unfair, cruel and most of all, funny in a certain sense. Kotomine would have laughed at his theory and might have even agreed. The creation and destruction of a hero always required the deaths of many. And a hero, in the end, was only a very successful killer.

The red coated Servant walked through the streets, invisible to the mundane eye but visible to all Servants. Police cars patrolled the roads and one passed by him every five minutes or so. Archer was surprised that the army hadn't been deployed already. Surely, normal people would have mistaken the Broken Phantasm Emiya Shirou had fired as a missile or rocket of some sort? And the fact that several miles of road had been torn up. And the dead police man with a hole in his chest. And Kiritsugu blowing the Tohsaka Manor sky high.

Rin's teacher, Lord el-Melloi the Second, had told Rin that Japanese Air Force had dispatched two F-15s when the Caster of the Fourth Grail War has summoned a gigantic monster. Both aircraft had been lost and Archer suspected that Rin was making up the part where the Berserker of the Fourth Grail War managed to take over one and use it against Gilgamesh himself on a sky battle. The point was that the military had intervened ten years ago, it would surely intervene now as well. This wasn't something that the agents of the Holy Church could hand wave away as gas leaks and explosions. That line was so over used that it was practically a cliché itself. As if the Tohsaka would have a gas connection.

Although they did have a television set. Archer had nearly fainted when he had seen it.

Archer felt two Servant dash across the roof tops of Fuyuki nearly fifty meters away from him. Intrigued, Archer decided to investigate and he jumped to the rooftops and materialized. He could run in his invisible state but he was much faster in his physical form. He dashed forward, clearing the space beneath the buildings in leaps and bounds.

And then promptly dropped down to the streets and quickly dematerialized. Assassin had been carrying Emiya Shirou and had landed on a rooftop. Archer had seen him take off his mask to reveal rather bulged eye that was sewn shut. The stitches were coming off and Archer had immediately gotten out of sight. He had enough experience dealing with demonic and vampiric eyes. He wouldn't be surprised at all if Asassin's eye was one as well. Saber would be in for a nasty surprise.

Her sudden screaming told him that yes she really had been caught off guard. She might have been the most powerful Servant so far with insanely high magic resistance and a good instinct. But she could still be taken advantage of.

A chunk of bricks fell on Archer. They harmlessly passed through him, hit the ground and broke into several shards which were scattered across the ground. Having a bunch of bricks fall through your body, Archer decided, was an extremely strange sensation. Although truthfully, it wasn't a sensation at all since by sensation one meant to sense or feel something and one had to be physical to feel something.

Another chunk fell through him. Saber continued screaming. Now Archer felt curious. Just what was happening up there? He jumped up and landed on the building.

Saber was swinging her invisible sword at everything in her path. The hidden Excalibur occasionally hit the side of the building, destroyed an impressive amount of it and sent bricks flying. Archer frowned. So that was why so many bricks fell through him. Mystery solved and case closed. Such a pity he wasn't getting paid for it.

And then Saber saw him. Archer blanched. This was definitely his worst move. With a harsh battle cry, the woman in blue raced at Archer. Archer noticed that her beautiful green eyes were filled with battle frenzy. Whatever Assassin had done to her, it hadn't been good.

The familiar black and white blades appeared in his hand. Archer crossed his swords together to block Saber's attack. The blades held for a moment before shattering. Archer was sent flying backwards. Fortunately, his trajectory was free of any structures like walls or billboards. He didn't want to destroy anymore of Fuyuki. He could be allowed to be this selfish, wasn't he?

1999 pairs of Kanshou and Bakuya could be traced.

Saber crossed the distance. Archer frantically traced another pair.

1998 pairs left.

Assassin must have more than just hypnotized her. Hypnotism, as far as Archer recalled, was useless against Saber. She had an absurdly high resistance to magecraft. What that eye was capable of doing must be on par with the Mystic Eyes possessed by Apostle Ancestors. They were classified as Gold and some other names. Archer hadn't been interested in learning about Mystic Eyes since most of their effects could simply be countered by simply getting out of the Mystic Eye's line of sight. There was such thing as too much information after all.

Saber's first thrust was stopped by Kanshou. The black blade shattered completely. The second thrust was parried by Bakuya which was also destroyed. This time, Archer didn't stand and fight. Archer ran.

Most unfortunately for him, Saber followed. Archer swore in several languages under his breath. Although he knew that he wasn't going to remain in this world for long, he didn't want to die fighting. He had died fighting in his previous life. He had died fighting in every other of his wretched incarnations. He wanted to smell the roses, for crying out loud.

And why was Saber chasing him? It was so unfair! Archer hadn't even provoked her! It was that damned Assassin's doing! All Archer wanted to do, when he recovered his memories after coming to this world, was kill himself. A simple plan with no complicated maneuvers. And now every single thing had snow balled into a big mess the likes of which even Counter Guardians couldn't solve. And he wasn't even interested in killing himself now since it would serve no purpose!

And he was still being chased by Saber!

The next time Archer found Assassin, if he survived that is, he would wrench out that hooded spider's dagger and shove it into Castle of Alamut, just as Assassin had said.

Saber was catching up. Archer briefly ran through his options. He could dematerialize but there was the risk of Saber going berserk on the population and killing a lot of people in her addled frenzy. He could trace Berserker Herakles' axe-sword but it would drain nearly 60% of all his reserves. Excalibur was similarly out of the question. Caliburn as well. Durandal was one of the few Noble Phantasms he had seen which actually had any battle experience attached to it which he could use. But it cost 70% and was out as well. Gae Bolg was one of the few he was willing to consider but he remembered that it wasn't enough to kill someone like Saber. He might severely inconvenience her but she would still be active enough to kill him even after such a blow.

That left only one option.

"Spirit and Technique, Flawless and Firm." Archer said. Kanshou and Bakuya appeared in his hands.

1997 pairs left.

The two swords were thrown at Saber who deflected them with ease. However, she had to stop her mad charge to do so and that gave Archer the chance to utter the next line.

"Strength rips mountains, swords split rivers" Archer added. Another pair appeared and were thrown. These were also parried easily. The counter fell to 1996.

The two pairs of flying Chinese Dao flew at wild angles, made impossibly sharp turns and returned. The black and white blades were married to each other and thus were attracted to each other. Saber was standing, as Archer had calculated, at the point where their flight trajectories would intercept. Saber readied herself to destroy all four blades in one slash. It would have been impossible for even a Hero to do that without being able to see them all. For Saber, whose Instinct was supernaturally high, it was no problem.

"Voices reach the imperial villa." Archer added. A third pair appeared in his hands. These blades were pumped up to the brim with prana. They expanded in size, resembling eagle wings.

Archer dashed forward for the final blow.

Saber slashed with her sword, destroying all four blades in one go. But in doing so, she exposed her front and left herself defenseless. Just as Archer planned.

"Two men, shared life!" Archer roared, as he brought down the his two swords. Kanshou and Bakuya exploded upon contact and Archer jumped back as soon as he landed a successful hit.

Saber emerged from the ensuing dust cloud, a vengeful yet beautiful spirit. Even Archer, who knew that such thoughts would only hinder his combat abilities, couldn't help admiring her in this state. And why wouldn't he? He had lost his Saber in his human life and yet he was now forced to fight the very woman he had once loved. Although no feeling existed now, stray thoughts like these still wandered into his brain.

Archer's complicated series of attacks had failed to even scratch Saber's armor. Not that Archer expected it to do so. The entire series of blows had only been made by him to calculate her speed. He already knew Excalibur's length. He could now safely execute his trump card against her. Another pair materialized in his hands. The counter fell to 1994 pairs.

"**I am the bone of my sword**" He spoke.

Saber, her maddened eyes sparkling, performed a series of thrusts at Archer. Every single thrust was parried, deflected or blocked. Every copy shattered after contact and was just as quickly replaced by another.

"**Steel is my body and fire is my blood**" Archer said.

The counter fell to 1954 pairs.

Saber suddenly slashed at his neck. If Archer hadn't know Saber well enough, he would have been killed on spot. He ducked, lost a few millimeters of his beautiful white hair, and attempted to slice off her legs. Saber simply stamped her foot on Archer's sword and prepared to stab him through the eye. Archer, while still squatting on the ground, shuffled backwards quickly, just as Saber thrust the tip of Excalibur on to the roof.

1953 pairs.

Saber was now certainly using unconventional fighting methods. Archer had to be quite careful in fighting her as well. He briefly considered taunting her to see whether it would make her cross enough to commit fatal mistakes. But then, he berated himself as he jumped back to dodge several slashes, what good would it be to annoy an already berserk Arturia Pendragon? And was she even sane enough to hear him?

1952 pairs.

"**I have created over a thousand blades**" Archer said. By now, he was focusing more one dodging Saber's attacks than blocking. A stroke came to close and Archer was forced to use Kanshou and Bakuya to block. As usual they shattered; Archer was thrown backwards and landed safely. Saber however, seemed to hesitate. Archer took advantage of this moment to recite another line of his Aria.

"**Unknown to death, nor known to life**" He had now the prana capacity left for 1951 pairs.

Saber suddenly rocketed at Archer. Archer could vaguely make out Excalibur. The wind surrounding it had suddenly been released. Most probably it had been used to propel her across the distance.

Archer only had enough time to react. So he did the only thing he could.

He countered Saber's attack with an all out attack of his own. Seeing him throw his swords, Saber attempted to stop herself in midair and swung Excalibur to deflect them.

Kanshou cut her right shoulder while Bakuya missed altogether. Excalibur managed to graze Archer's nose tip. Both fighters achieved first blood nearly simultaneously. Archer jumped out of the way as Saber overshot, her attempts to stop having failed. Archer wiped the droplets of blood off his nose.

"**Having withstood pains to create many weapons**" He added. The counter was now down to 1950.

How could Saber act like this? What sort of illusion was Saber seeing? Was she seeing him as an enemy that she needed to destroy? Archer racked his brain for the identity of someone Saber might hate so much as to go completely berserk on seeing them. None came to my mind considering how cool headed she was, even in battle.

"**Yet these hands shall never hold anything**" Archer said.

Saber slashed once again. Archer countered. Kanshou and Bakuya broke once more. 1949 pairs left.

"**So as I pray,**" Archer breathed. Maybe he had to kill Saber after all. It was a miracle that she hadn't unleashed the full fury of Excalibur yet. But if Assassin's eye had been powerful enough to have such a permanent effect on her mind, then it would be a mercy to kill her. It would be a pity considering that all the techniques and strokes Saber had displayed were extremely degraded. She was powerful but her skill was so eroded due to her madness that Archer was very close to defeating her. If she had been aware and in control of her senses, the fight would have gone another way.

"**Unlimited Blade Works**" Archer intoned. Saber recoiled in surprise as fire suddenly erupted around Archer and quickly sprang outwards. It overtook her despite her tremendous jump. The world egg manifested itself in a brilliant flash of white light.

Gears groaned as they began to turn in the sky. The ground inside the world was scorched and hosted numerous weapons, all of which were buried tip first into the ground. Archer pulled out Caliburn. Since Unlimited Blade Works had been materialized, he could use the most powerful sword which had someone's experience appended to it against Saber. He could rain the swords on Saber but he knew that even in her crazed state, she would be able to fend them off. Which was why he needed Caliburn since with its strength and added experience, Archer would be able to kill her while using the raining weapons as distractions.

Saber promptly unveiled Excalibur a second time. Archer raced across the field of blades.

And then yellow motes of light began to quickly rise up and fly to Excalibur. Archer's eyes widened. Saber was charging Excalibur very quickly and would unleash the blast of raw prana in less than a second. On his mental command, countless forgeries of weapons sprang into the sky and then rained on Saber.

Saber stood her ground and countered every single Noble Phantasm with Excalibur. Archer gritted his teeth. He shot more weapons only for them to be shattered and broken by Saber's sword strokes. More and more weapons rained down yet they were similarly dealt with. Weapons could be produced inside Unlimited Blade Works with no cost but their destruction added to the overhead of maintaining the Reality Marble. Archer kept running at Saber. The weapons continued raining down on her. The world egg would collapse with at any moment.

Archer reached Saber and thrust Caliburn at her heart. Saber growled as she swung Excalibur. The glowing Sword of Promised Victory clanged with the shining Sword of the Victorious. Despite being the inferior weapon, Caliburn didn't shatter. Its tip hit Saber's chest plate but couldn't penetrate it.

However, the shock of seeing her lost weapon up close was enough. Saber's eyes suddenly returned to their normal state just as Caliburn shattered. Unlimited Blade Works faded and reality reasserted its presence. The two Servant were back on the roof. Archer collapsed on his knees. Never before had he fought so hard. Not that he could remember doing so. He had spent nearly 12.5 percent of his prana reserves and still had failed to defeat her even when she was crazed and incapable of using her strength properly while he had the upper hand in every sense. He had even prevented her from using her trump card. He was now down to 1749 pairs.

"Truly, the Saber class is the strongest class in the Holy Grail War." Archer chuckled. Saber remained motionless. Then she slowly lowered Excalibur. The wind sprang back on to the glowing blade and the sword became invisible once more.

"Who are you, red warrior? And where did you get that sword?" Saber asked in a calm tone. Archer, however, knew her well enough to know that she had been greatly moved.

"I am Servant Archer and which sword are you talking about?" Archer answered and prepared to leave. He had succeeded in saving the lives of many innocent citizens and had done so without actually killing the source of the danger. Right now, he felt his head was full of drugs. Every fiber in his being was incredibly happy as he realized that he had saved everyone, even if the definition was narrowed considerably. He could even die happily now and once more brave another million years as a Counter Guardian.

There was also the chance that Saber might get furious at him copying Caliburn and consider it an insult.

"Wait, brave knight, at least tell me your name. I can understand that you prevented me from wrecking destruction on the innocent populace and I commend your effort for that. I also praise your mastery in swordplay and the chivalry you showed in battle." Saber said. Archer quizzically raised his eyebrows. Well, this was a bit too much. He couldn't recall Saber ever being so emotionally vulnerable. Was it because Assassin's eye had shaken her up enough? Only a few hours ago, she had been acting hostile towards him.

"I am sorry but I cannot tell you my name even though I know that you mean well." Archer said sincerely. Saber frowned. Archer then hastily added. "Shouldn't you be looking for your Master? I saw him getting kidnapped by Assassin when I followed you two." With that comment, he hoped that Saber would go away.

"That is true. I ask for a temporary alliance with you, Archer. I cannot feel my Master's presence and would like to recruit you to help me find him." Saber said. Archer blinked. Then he sighed. Somehow, he expected this kind of scenario.

"Follow me." He said and he dashed towards Shinji's mansion with Saber easily keeping up with him. Within a few minutes, they were both standing in front of the Matou residence. Archer looked at it thoroughly. He had only been here once or twice and it didn't look at all different. Some things always remained the same no matter which timeline.

Archer tested the entrance doorknob. The door turned out to be, surprisingly unlocked. Archer could have simply phased his way inside but he felt that it would be terrible manners against Saber, who couldn't, which was why he physically stepped inside. The mansion was silent as death itself. The Servant in red felt incredibly uneasy. There had been no barriers or bounded field nor any sort of thaumaturgical defense protecting the mansion although it smelled faintly of rotten eggs and blood. Such a lack of defense was disturbing. Any moment now, Archer expected Rider to jump out and intercept them. They wandered through the corridor until they arrived into a large chamber which could vaguely be defined as a living room.

Sitting casually on the sofa, with his fist resting beneath his chin and a book in his lap, was Shinji. He was dressed quite formally although Archer couldn't ever recall Shinji being in anything like this. He always either wore his school uniform or casual clothes. Shinji didn't jump up in alarm or cry out in surprise. He merely raised his eyebrows as if he was expecting them. Archer wondered whether he really was or was very good at hiding his expression.

"It would have been politer to knock, you know." He said. Archer felt impressed. He was liking this Shinji already. Saber stepped forward.

"I believe my Master was brought to location by Assassin. Do you know where he is?" Saber asked in firm tones.

"Ah yes. Well you see, my grandfather and Assassin decided that having a permanent base wasn't a good idea. They have left this place and taken that idiot Emiya with them although, you might find that idiot within your close proximity." Shinji said, stressing slightly on the last four words. Saber nodded and dashed back out of the house. Archer looked amusedly at the entire affair.

"Quite a plucky chap, aren't you? Facing two Heroic Servants and not even batting an eye." Archer said. Shinji chuckled.

"Don't you mean to say one Heroic Spirit and one dead idiot raised to life?" He said, smiling.

Archer felt stunned. Could Shinji know who he was?

"What do you mean by that?" Archer said, suppressing his surprise.

"Oh come now, Emiya! You may have changed your clothes, your hair and your skin color but those are merely superficial changes! Anyone who has known you long enough may recognize you if they look at you closely enough! That standing posture, that wit, those eyebrows! Those things truly convinced me that you are him. I had to look at Emiya's face several times until I spotted the resemblance but once I figured it out, the rest of the pieces were easily fell in place. Like the fact that you are an Archer class Servant or the fact that you are a hero at all. Hell, I am willing to bet that you died stupidly doing some good stuff like rescuing kitten or something!" Shinji said in a loud voice.

To say that Archer was stunned would be the understatement of the millennium. The Counter Guardian briefly considered killing Shinji, except that he realized that it wouldn't be of any use. The poor Counter Guardian felt as if he had been hit in that face with a sledge hammer. A particularly hard Noble Phantasm of a sledgehammer wielded by Berserker Herakles. He would have expected Rin or Emiya Shirou guessing his identity. Even Saber guessing it would have been acceptable considering how high her instinct and intellect were. But Matou frickin' Shinji? The guy who was found spending more time with girls than boys?

"I didn't just rescue a kitten!" was all Archer could say.

"Whatever. How the hell are you still alive, Emiya? I though Tohsaka died?" He asked, waving his hand dismissively.

Archer stared at the blue haired boy. Even if he was smarter than usual, Shinji of this timeline still acted very much like Shinji. Not being bothered by the death of Rin and thinking so highly of himself. Or perhaps that was how all normal people's mindset was?

"Servants of the Archer class have at least a B-rank in Independent Action while mine is B+. I can remain in this world for up to three days without a Master." Archer said a little stiffly.

"I see." Shinji said thoughtfully. His expression grew much more somber. "Did she suffer much?" He asked.

Archer was forced to change his opinion of Shinji once again. Most people would say things like 'I am so sorry for your loss' or 'It must have been dreadful'. Those types of condolences were given by the type of people who lived comfortable lives who only saw death as something that wouldn't happen to them. In fact, these kinds of people were the ones who were very surprised when they found themselves at death's door. Archer had seen his fair share of them during his time as a freelance Magus Killer. Most of them happened to be his victims.

What Shinji had asked was the sort of question that people painfully aware of how close death hovered about them asked. Shinji must have lived in an environment of fear and despair. Suddenly, it made sense why he acted so over the top. It must be some sort of coping mechanism Shinji had unconsciously developed.

"She must have died instantly. The blast was powerful enough to ensure that." Archer said.

"I see. Did you happen to see the culprit?" Shinji inquired.

"Yes. It was Emiya Kiritsugu." Archer said. Shinji's half closed eyes flew open.

"What? Emiya's dad? That accountant? He is capable of using explosives?" Shinji said in a strangled voice.

"He is capable of doing much more than that. He was known as the Magus Killer during the time he was active. He was a very successful assassin and mass murderer." Archer said.

"I see. Thank you for that information." Shinji said gravely. He fidgeted uncomfortably. Archer turned around to leave. The Holy Grail War wasn't his business any more. He had wasted more than enough time fighting Saber and chatting up with Shinji. He was going to look at the best sights in Fuyuki, may be have a look at Ilya and see how she was doing in this timeline and then peacefully die. And woe upon the person who decided to disturb his plan. Archer had learnt how to be selfish in the last hours of his human life and he was now going to be selfish in his last hours as a Heroic Spirit as well.

"Emiya, what would you wish if you ever got the Holy Grail?" Shinji asked. Archer decided to indulge Shinji a bit.

"I am not participating in this war anymore. I don't have a wish to make." He said.

"And why is that?" Shinji pressed. Archer sighed and turned around to face Shinji once more.

"That is because the Grail is tainted." Archer answered.

"Was." Shinji amended.

There was brief but excruciating silence.

"Was?" Archer asked cryptically.

"Was." Shinji nodded.

Archer digested the news for a moment.

"How?" He asked. There was genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Ten years ago, my grandfather made a wish to become immortal. His wish was granted, at the cost of the Grail's impurity, the spirit of Servant Avenger, attaching itself with my grandfather. You can even sense his lingering presence in the form of this shitty smell, can't you? My grandfather's wish created a rotten miracle and made him immortal to a certain extent but it is such a painful existence that it isn't worth it. I heard that the Grail was completely purified because somehow, the cleansing procedure matched the mechanics of immortality. There is a terribly complex theory involved behind it but the good news is, the Grail is now functioning exactly as it was built; a power source ready to fuel a wish made by the victor." Shinji said. He briefly looked sick for a moment but quickly recovered. Archer's eye's had widened.

There was hope. He had a chance to do it. No need to futilely wait for a chance to erase himself, he could now actually do it!

"Tell me again, Emiya," Shinji asked. "What is your wish?"

Archer turned around and began to walk away. Shinji scrambled off the sofa and followed him.

"Oi, Emiya! Emiya! Tell me what the hell is your wish?" He asked.

Archer paused for a moment. Telling that much wouldn't do much harm anyways. It wouldn't make him exploitable anyways.

"I wish to die." He said quietly and he phased out of the Matou residence, materialized outside and dashed to the nearest major leyline, the Tohsaka estate.

Emiya Kiritsugu would definitely try to blow up certain explosives to cause a minor earthquake, just as it had occurred in his human life, which would dismantle the Grail System in its entirety, even though it had already been taken apart by them rendering the entire artificial earthquake moot. It would also kill quite a few hundred people but that wasn't much of a problem for the Magus Killer.

However, knowing that he was still alive in this era, he would most definitely try to trigger them manually in hopes of destroying the War. However, if that happened, he would also destroy Archer's one chance of escape.

Emiya Kiritsugu must be stopped.

It was nearly midday when Archer finally found the explosives. He had to snort in approval. They were made entirely from yew, because of its prana conductance, and were filled with common gunpowder. Anyone going over with a metal detector or any other sort of bomb detection equipment would fail to find them. There were over a hundred boxes buried nearly fifteen feet inside Mount Enzou, a few meters away from the Ryuudouji temple gate. Archer didn't know who manufactured the boxes but they were apparently quite airtight meaning that the gunpowder hadn't been spoiled for nearly ten years. Despite such being such a low quality explosive, the gunpowder would be able to set off the necessary leyline since as far as Archer could tell, it was buried in the perfect place. Even Caster herself would probably accept that the whole setup would produce the desired result of disrupting the leyline and destroying the ritual.

Now all that was left was to wait for Emiya Kiritsugu. Archer didn't have to wait long. His target climbed up the stairs and faced him. His shocked face was worth a million yen. Archer was impressed. He had left Kiritsugu in the hands of the police, now here he was. And he had even changed his appearance completely.

"Hello, father. Please don't tell me that you forgot about me already?" Archer said, standing several steps above and smiling sardonically as he looked down. The black and white blades in his hands glinted slightly. "I knew that you would try to stop the ritual. A true hero would immediately spring into action after seeing all this calamity. And so I searched in all the possible places where you might act to hinder the Ritual. Believe me, it took me the entire night and most of the day to find the hidden explosives. But now that I have found them, I must regretfully tell you that I can't allow you to disturb the ritual." The red coated Servant declared.

"Why not? Are you blind to all the destruction that has occurred?" Kiritsugu roared. "I raised you better than that!" He added. The last sentence actually managed to hurt Archer. And now he was getting angry.

"Perhaps you should also know that I died completely senselessly pursuing a dream that is completely stupid! What do you mean by raise me? What do you know about my life? Hell, what do you know about your own son?" Archer asked, although his tone was quieter than Kiritsugu's.

"What do you mean?" Kiritsugu said, taken aback.

"The destruction you are talking about, the death of nearly two hundred people is because of that son of yours, Emiya Shirou. He also had been kidnapped by the Matou." Archer said. Kiritsugu fell silent. The two men remained standing.

"So, what does the hero wannabe has to say? Will you destroy the Grail Ritual to stop this madness? Are you willing to put your life on the line? Are you ready to go through me?" Archer asked.

"Why do you insist on guarding this ritual? Is it revenge for your Master?" Kiritsugu asked.

"No, it is because this War is worth fighting for." Archer said.

"Do you even know what the Grail is?" Kiritsugu lashed out.

"It is a powerful wish granting device." Archer said calmly.

"And also has some sort of evil magecraft thrown into the mix!" Kiritsugu angrily said.

"Had." Archer said, silencing Kiritsugu. The silence this time was heavy with hope.

"Had?" Kiritsugu said in a quavering voice. Archer nodded.

"Rejoice, Emiya Kiritsugu, for your life worth of struggles are about to be rewarded. For being a hero means having villains to fight and a world to save. The stage is set, take centre and act!" Archer said. Kiritsugu gave him a strange look.

"I do not want to save the world. I want to save my world." He said. Archer blinked.

"Well, your wish is yours. My work here is done." Archer said. He couldn't dismantle the bombs himself for fear of accidentally setting them off himself so he had to prevent Kiritsugu from destroying the ritual. Now that it was done, it was time for him to search for a suitable Master.

Kiritsugu's phone rang. The brown haired mage looked a little surprised but answered it nonetheless. Archer felt curious so he reinforced his hearing just to hear the conversation.

"Yes?" Kiritsugu said.

"Kiritsugu, I have just seen a shadow like monster devour nearly ten people." A woman's voice came from the other side.

"Maiya, are you in danger? Where are you?" Kiritsugu asked.

"No, I am not in any danger. However, if this continues, the police might get further involved. I am currently in a rather questionable part of Shinto. Nearly fifty meters away from the Copenhagen." The woman answered. Archer briefly wondered what she was doing there.

"Understood. Try tracking the monster to see who is controlling it. Odds are that it is a familiar of some sort. I will be with you in half an hour. Do not do anything to jeopardize yourself." Kiritsugu said and disconnected. He then turned to Archer.

"Archer, from here on, we are enemies." Kiritsugu said.

"What makes you think that I won't kill you right now?" Archer asked. He was disturbed by the fact that Kiritsugu had actually now started addressing him by his class.

"What makes you think you will?" Kiritsugu said as he stared right into the eyes of the red coated Heroic Spirit. A few seconds later, Archer was forced to avert his eyes. Kiritsugu hurried down the steps.

No matter how much more powerful Archer was as compared to Kiritsugu, the Heroic Spirit knew that he couldn't kill the Magus Killer. It was because, as Kiritsugu knew very well, Archer couldn't bring himself to do it. Archer wasn't one to kill senselessly.

Archer shook himself out of his reverie. He had sixty hours left to find a new Master.

* * *

Shinji emptied the contents of his stomach inside the toilet. Assassin silently stood beside him, patiently watching his Master vomit uncontrollably. After several minutes, Shinji stood up and flushed the toilet with a shuddering hand. He then walked on shivering feet to the sink, opened the cabinet and took out a bottle. Before he could open it, Assassin stopped his hand.

"Assassin, what do you think you are doing?" Shinji asked. He wanted to sound angry and threatening but he failed miserably.

"I am stopping you from poisoning yourself." Assassin said calmly.

"You didn't stop me when I first took the dosage!" Shinji protested.

"I allowed you to take that much because I knew it would only make you sick. I wanted you to feel the fear of death. Suicide isn't the answer, Master." Assassin explained as he emptied the bottle inside the toilet. Shinji looked for a moment as if he would reach inside the toilet and swallow the pills shamelessly. Assassin flushed the toilet while he looked at Shinji in a very pointed manner.

"Suicide is never the answer." He said firmly. Shinji hobbled outside the bathroom and collapsed on the floor. Tears quietly began to flow out of his eyes.

"What would you know of true despair? Do you know what it feels like to be a coward yet still desire to do good?" Shinji asked.

"I am afraid I don't." Assassin said.

"I lied and betrayed my only friend so that I could mentally break my own sister. A man like me deserves to die. And I fully know the consequences of my actions as well so it is pointless to reprimand me." Shinji said, as the tears began to wet the carpet.

"I shall not." Assassin said.

"Why aren't you chastising me? Why does everyone pities me? A man is supposed to stand up for himself, isn't he?" Shinji said.

"I wouldn't know that." Assassin answered.

"Of course you wouldn't." Shinji said venomously.

"But what I do know is that dressing up in your best clothes and ingesting sleeping pills is not the answer to your problems." Assassin said.

"Oh really? What does the Heroic Spirit Assassin think of this? He was a hero in his life and spent it perfectly. What would he know?" Shinji said bitterly.

"Master, what do you know about my life?" Assassin asked. Shinji remained silent. "Exactly. You know nothing. I spent my entire life in a drugged heaven of hashish. I had no will or say in my actions. Anyone who decided to rebel against the Hashishin Order was first denied his hashish and even if he continued after that, he would be killed. My greatest achievement in my life is accidentally killing some demon and implanting his eye in my head. You, on the other hand, are completely aware of what you are doing wrong. You regret your actions. Isn't that infinitely better than my life? I was never sane enough to regret mine."

"Just regretting and doing nothing else? How is that better than being a drug addict? At least you never had to deal with the pain of guilt! You don't know how much better your life is as compared to mine!" Shinji yelled.

The next moment, he had been picked up by the scruff of his collar and was lifted to the eye level of Assassin. The skull mask couldn't hide the fury of the Heroic Spirit and Shinji, who was too weak to look away, was forced to witness it.

"Give me one reason, Matou Shinji, why I shouldn't just use my Noble Phantasm on you." He asked softly. Assassin's voice came in a soft hiss and Shinji suddenly had a feeling of millions of spiders and insects running all over his body.

And Shinji didn't have an answer. A few seconds of silence later, Assassin dropped him unceremoniously on the floor. Shinji fell face first. The bridge of his nose seemed to cave in and a flood of blood erupted from his nostril. Assassin remained unfazed by Shinji's nose breaking.

"It may be true that you lied to your sister and thus broke her mind and turned her in to a monster. It may be true that you locked the door of the basement to prevent your human best friend from escaping your grandfather's worms. It is even true that you gave away vital information about the Grail just for Archer to destroy any enemies for the sake of the Grail. But remember, you did not have a choice. You were forced by your grandfather. As long as you have a degree of free will, you can do anything. There is a limit to a man's cowardice. After that limit, a man is forced to stand up. And that is when the greatest miracles occur." Assassin said.

"Or you could just lie here and die. I need to leave. Master is calling." Assassin said. Shinji remained lying on the floor.

**Salutations! Salve! Greetings! And hello!**

**This Leo Novum and he is proud to report that he has finally did the impossible!**

**He has reached a sum total of more than 400 reviews! (Both FAT and PoZ combined)! Amen! Hallelujah! Peanut Butter!**

**One simply does not forget the peanut butter.**

**And now, a word of advice. When you reread the fight scene between Saber and Archer, use Emiya as the sound track: ****watch?v=uSm6nnwesV4**

**I believe this sound track will give you the right feel when reading the fight. In fact, the reason this chapter is rather short is because I spent all my focus on the fight. Don't blame me! I read the latest chapter of 'God Slaying Blade Works' and noticed that the fight between Shirou and Mordred wasn't bad per se. It made me want to write a good fight scene as well!**

**Oh yeah, just so you missed it, Sakura is turning into a Grail but through a different mechanism. Deal with it.**

**And now, The Leo Novum Ranting Section! (Provided that you are aware that the stuff I rant about is quite often laughably common knowledge)**

**Robotics; Notes sucked! Man, at least delve into the plot a little more thoroughly! And don't leave so many plot threads hanging! I expected so much from the creators of Steins; Gate but this is absolutely stupid!**

**There are masterpieces like Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Steins; Gate, Full Metal Alchemist and Death Note. There are excellent pieces like Code Geass, Full Metal Panic, Gundam 00, Jormungandr and Black Lagoon. There are pieces that don't even try at all like Familiar of Zero, Campione, Sekirei, Infinite Stratos and Bleach (Suck it up.). And there are some who are fully aware how pathetic their genre really is so they blatantly break the fourth wall (Get out of here Deadpool. And you too, Dingo) like Hayate the Combat Butler.**

**But Robotics; Notes is so stale that it fails.**

**And that is how, my dear readers, we learnt that the Earth is banana shaped. And in the next chapter, we shall discuss how earthquakes can be prevented by the use of sheep bladders.**

**Do Review!**


	6. The Reason of Heroism

_**Chapter Six: The Reason of Heroism**_

Hisau Maiya carefully kept a distance of at least twenty feet between herself and her quarry. Since Kiritsugu had told her to change her appearance and the fact that she was moving through a rather seedy area in Fuyuki, she had appropriately chosen a rather tight pair of jeans and a tube top. And she had also been forced to leave several men curled up and groaning.

Her target seemed to be sentient moving shadow of sorts which had just devoured several men. Maiya briefly considered firing at the creature a few times but each time, she stopped. Magical creatures like these usually had an insane immunity to bullets. And besides, all she had was a small firearm. It wouldn't do much to a normal human unless it hit some vital region. She should have brought something bigger. However, Kiritsugu had told her to maintain a low profile and so all she could carry was two clips and a pistol. And it wasn't like they had anything powerful anyways. The rifle was in the Acty. And they had no rocket propelled grenades or other shoulder launched missiles. Kiritsugu had smuggled four into the city ten years ago and all four had been used to destroy the Kotomine Church. They had killed Kotomine Kirei but they had accidentally pissed off Archer.

Maiya shuddered. The Fourth War hadn't been pretty even by real life war standards especially considering Caster's involvement. At least in mundane wars, you didn't face a golden king who was hell bent on destroying the 'mongrels who dared to disturb the king during his respite'. It had taken the combined might of Saber, Lancer, Rider and Berserker to kill him. And Lancer and Rider had died in the end anyways.

Curiously, they had found several shard of glass at the ruins of the Kotomine Church which Kiritsugu determined to be broken wine bottles. Perhaps the king had been drinking?

The shadow lurched about seemingly uncertain. Maiya couldn't see its face or whether it had one or not. The former assassin looked around hurriedly, just in case some idiot decided to stumble up on her and reveal her location. Thankfully, there were none.

The shadow continued its way through the dark alleys, nearly crawling at some times but speeding up considerably at others. Its movement was extremely erratic and sometimes Maiya felt she would be discovered simply because she would run too fast. There was no pattern to its movements. If it was a familiar, Maiya deduced then its movements were probably reflecting the Master's emotions. It could be possible that its Master was feeling disturbed or was having mood swings.

The shadow was now out of the allies and into the park where the Grail had materialized ten years ago.

And then Maiya saw the Master of the Shadow. It was a purple haired girl with a ribbon, wearing the same school's uniform as that of Shirou's. She was sitting on a bench, hands folded into her lap and head bowed. Maiya felt thunderstruck. It was Sakura.

A thousand questions begged to be answered. She couldn't even begin to ask them. But she could only croak out one word.

"Sakura!" Maiya said in a strangled voice. The sound was loud enough to rouse the Matou heir. The girl raised her head. Maiya felt a small pang as she saw tears in Sakura's eyes. She had never seen the girl cry in her life and seeing her with that face somehow seemed inherently wrong. Maiya cautiously approached Sakura, ready to run away at a moment's notice.

"Sakura! What happened?" Maiya asked. Sakura simply bowed her head. The Shadow melted away and the scene seemed to return to normal.

"Senpai is dead." Sakura said.

Maiya fel the blood in her veins run cold. Winter sunlight shone through the twisted leaves of the petrified trees that were in the park but they only seemed to make the atmosphere much stranger and terrifying. Maiya struggled not to collapse on the spot. Such a sudden declaration had caught her off guard.

"H-how?" She said, unsteadily.

But Sakura raised her head and this time, her irises were pitch black. Something shifted beneath the purple haired girl's skin, move under her cheek, down her neck and disappeared into her ample bosom. Maiya stepped back in revulsion and cursed herself for underestimating the Matou magecraft. She reached for her weapon. Eyes like these were a good sign of demonic or foreign possession and neither types were good in Maiya's opinion.

"Heh, I always thought that Sakura had only two emotional points. But it seems like there is a third as well. If she can disclose her thoughts to you as well, you must be. My, how much this little girl has grown! She has actually made friends!" She said in an eerie voice. Maiya had never heard that voice before but she could immediately tell to whom it belonged to. Only one man remained in the Matou family capable of something so complex and hideous.

"Matou Zouken." She said, as she began to back away.

"We'll see whether killing you shall break her mind any further." Sakura chuckled.

Maiya immediately fired two bullets. In response, without a command or a spell, the shadow seemed to reappear and take the bullets for its Master. The bullets sank inside it with a squelching sound. Maiya had already started running. It was too bad that she didn't have anything else with her but she could tell one thing.

The shadow had jumped in front of Sakura to protect her. This meant that Sakura was vulnerable to bullets. If they could somehow shoot her from a distance, the problem would be solved. Maiya continued to run towards the park's exit. She could feel the shadow slithering after her in a determined manner.

And then suddenly, it sped up for no particular reason, darted trough the trees and tried to leap at her.

A beam of intense yellow light shot it in midair, burning the shadow badly. The familiar didn't make a sound but it did writhe around and even rolled over several times until the flames went out. The twigs and dry leaves crackled as someone walked up from behind. Maiya spun around and heaved a sigh of relief. Even though he disliked magecraft, it did not mean he was incapable of certain rough forms of it.

"Maiya, give me your hand." Kiritsugu said as he calmly walked up to her. Maiya understood what he meant and immediately gripped his left hand with her right. Their fingers were intertwined and for a brief, lucid and unrelated moment, Maiya could feel slightly happy even in this situation.

Kiritsugu had inherited a significant portion of his original family crest and the spells that were inside it. The Emiya family was mostly a family of magi with the element of fire with the occasional earth based magus popping up once in a while. This was why most offensive spells stored within the Emiya Crest were fire based, like the one Kiritsugu had just used. The only reasons why he didn't use it more often was because it was extremely costly in terms of prana and thus prevented the use of more useful spells like Time Alter.

Right now, however, they were fighting without guns and this creature, as Kiritsugu had seemed to have realized, was immune to bullets. So Kiritsugu had simply decided to kill it with fire.

Maiya gripped Kiritsugu's hand slightly, taking comfort in how solid it was. She activated all of her twenty three circuits by imagining herself getting drenched in cold water. Her od flowed through her arm and into Kiritsugu's body. Maiya's elemental affinity was ether. Since she lacked the proper education to utilize it properly, all she could use it for was for illusions that were good enough to even fool certain high class magi. Her elemental prana was useful in fueling and adding strength to any spell and this was why Kiritsugu taught her slightly more than normal.

The shadow struggled to stand properly but it still seemed injured.

"May all evil recede from my sight; May all darkness fade within my reach; My will is forged from iron; My sight is made from flames; I have witnessed the fall of heavens; I have witnessed the rise of hell; I have set my spirit free; I have caged my weakness within; My power shall smite opposition; **Hellfire**." Kiritsugu chanted as quickly as possible. Maiya's added prana fueled the ten count spell to ridiculous proportions. The ensuing ball of golden flames which emerged from Kiritsugu's right palm vaporized the shadow and nearly everything else within a range of twenty feet.

The Hellfire Spell had burnt down a lot of trees which had been within unfortunate range. The heat had been so intense that the wood had immediately combusted and tuned into ash. Even the smoke had been burnt clean of carbon and other combustible materials. The resulting heat had also been hot enough to create a minor difference in air pressure. The hot air caused by the spell had risen and caused the cooler and fresher air to rush in and fill the spot. It was a good thing that happened or else Kiritsugu and Maiya would have died of oxygen starvation right where they were standing.

"Let's go." Kiritsugu said. He had taken off his fake right arm and had tucked it under his left arm. The heat and fire proof clothes were preventing any injury or damage from the hot prosthetic which had been heated to such a degree by his own spell. It was a good thing he was wearing those or else he wouldn't even have survived his own spell. Maiya had ducked behind him after the prana transfer, knowing that Kiritsugu would have taken active precautions for his strategy. She had been right.

"Well well! And here I thought that the Magus Killer was a discreet guy. You know, for a race that values politeness and submissiveness, you sure are quite flamboyant." Someone sneered. Maiya and Kiritsugu immediately took out there pistols and pointed it in the voice's direction. The prosthetic fell as Kiritsugu reached for his gun with his left hand.

"Sancraid Phahn." Kiritsugu said as he saw the owner of the voice. The reptilian priest leered at the two mages.

"What are you here for?" He asked.

"I am here to tell you worthless excuses of humanity that the Magecraft Association is seriously considering destroying Fuyuki. There have been too many exposures of thaumaturgy to the general public and the Church is working overtime to hypnotize witnesses, covering up incidents and repairing the damages. Just so you know, you monkey's antics have already depleted half of my budget! And it's only the third day!" Sancraid said in a casual tone. Kiritsugu's eyes hardened. Sancraid seemed to be speaking the truth. Was that accursed Association really willing to go to such lengths? And why was he speaking about it?

"Eliminating an entire city won't go unnoticed." Kiritsugu said.

"Oh you would be surprised how willing people are to ignore the truth. Any lie is sellable if phrased correctly. What will it be? Earthquake? Tsunami? Hurricane? They'll buy it. You yourself know how blind they can be. You have caused enough incidents yet not a single one of the ordinary people caught on to your antics." Sancraid said.

Kiritsugu remembered his island home. He gritted his teeth. It was true that the public was willing to swallow any lie but this was getting ridiculous. Did the Association even have that much power to eliminate an entire city of eleven million just like that? Or were they going to bring in the Kaleidoscope or the Blue herself?

"But!" Sancraid said, wagging his finger at Kiritsugu. "We can do something about it, can't we?"

And now Kiritsugu was plainly shocked. This racist priest was actually willing to set aside his differences and work with him? Kiritsugu wished he could shoot another Hellfire Spell and eliminate him but the proposal he had offered was too good to ignore. After all, the death of millions had to be prevented.

And he wanted the Grail.

"What do you want?" Kiritsugu said. Maiya gave Kiritsugu an alarmed look but Kiritsugu only gave her a brief glance after which she returned to her cold and neutral self. Sancraid Phahn clapped his hands enthusiastically.

"Good little jap! I knew you would see things my way. The Association has already sent nearly a hundred Enforcers whose sole purpose is to enact a Great Ritual to destroy this city by disrupting all major leylines at once." Sancraid explained. Kiritsugu frowned. This was exactly the same method he had decided to use to destroy the Grail System.

"So you want me to assassinate all of them." Kiritsugu said darkly.

"Give the prize to the yellow brain cell! You're not that stupid after all, aren't you? Quite surprising!" Sancraid said in a sing song voice. Kiritsugu nodded. He picked up his prosthetic arm and calmly walked out of the park.

"Aww man, how am I going to explain this away? Forest fire doesn't quite cut it. Terrorist bombing maybe? Or punks messing around with flammable liquids? Or how about the Human Torch?" They could hear Sancraid moaning even after exiting the park. Kiritsugu opened the door of a car parked several meters away from the park entrance. Maiya stood and looked at him with apprehensive eye. Why was Kiritsugu willing to cooperate with Sancraid?

"It's a good thing that it was a bright day. Not many noticed the flames." Kiritsugu noted.

"Kiritsugu! !Are you seriously going to follow his instructions?" Maiya asked in a worried voice.

"I am." Kiritsugu replied coldly before looking directly at her. "But you're not. I can see that Sancraid has an ulterior motive in store for me and it is ridiculously apparent that he intends to dispose of me after I have outlived my usefulness. But at the same time, we cannot ignore this new threat that has cropped up due to the Magecraft Association's stupidity."

Maiya waited. Kiritsugu must have come up with some plan.

"He wants the Grail. He wants me to do the dirty business so that threat is averted. Since his target is the Grail, it means he must have either allied with a Servant or stole the Command Spells of some Master, somehow. Considering that the Saber, Lancer, Archer, Berserker and Assassin class have been taken so it is safe to assume that he controls either a Rider or a Caster. Since I could sense the drain of prana inside the Fuyuki Church, chances are high that his Servant is a Caster. It could also be a Rider with some sort of prana draining magecraft as part of his arsenal. Maiya, take Ilya and Lancer and kill both Sancraid and his Servant. I'll deal with the Enforcers." Kiritsugu instructed. Then he gazed at Maiya one last time before adding.

"And dress appropriately! You are going to be a bad influence on my daughter!" He said in a slightly angry voice before driving away. Maiya smiled as she saw him leave before hailing a taxi herself.

* * *

Emiya Shirou woke up and for a moment lay on his back. He could see tree trunks rising majestically into the air. He could feel the cold ground through his back. He could smell the rotten air. He could see the sun light filter through the air. It was the late part of evening, according to his estimate. Probably around three to four pm.

He surprisingly felt no pain when he tried to move his body. He got up slowly and looked around. The first thing he noticed was that the worms had formed a tight circle around him as if they could prevent his escape. The second thing he noticed was that the biggest mass of worms was only a few feet away from him. This collection of black and reddish brown worms was all that remained of the man named Matou Zouken.

"So you are awake." His pained voice came from the mass. Emiya Shirou blinked several times. Somehow, he felt that things were very wrong. He said the very first things that came to his mind.

"Why are we here? What happened?" Emiya Shirou asked.

"It seems that your Servant found our household after all. I had to vacate it quickly or else my entire plan would have been torn apart by your Servant's rage. What aid I needed from you has been received. Emiya Shirou, you are free to go." The mass of worms replied.

Shirou could only stare in surprise at the absurdity of this statement before haphazardly walking away. Who was he to look a free escape critically? He didn't know what to do anymore. He missed his normal life where the most uncertain thing he knew was the test score or the cooking made by Ilya. He missed being weak and pathetic because now that he had the knowledge and the power, he knew how heavy the responsibility of a hero was.

Matou Zouken kept observing the boy walk away until he was well out of range.

"You can come out now, Caster." He said. There was a chuckle as the Witch threw off something that looked a veil of invisibility and stood visible. All the worms shrank away from her, giving her a healthy radius. The Servant of Magic seemed to be hovering several inches from the ground.

"My my, it seems like the mages of this era are not just useless. You are the most powerful mage in this city and you simply use your magecraft to torture your own granddaughter." She noted.

"You yourself were barely invisible. The fact that several of my familiars told me that an unseeable object was floating in midair was enough of a cue for me to see were you were. Don't worry, such idiotic mistakes are expected from inept mages." Zouken said. There was a pause as both sides waited for the other to move. "So what do you want from an old man like me?" Zouken asked.

"You know very well what I want. A weak Servant like me needs every leverage it can use against her enemies." Caster said as her mouth twisted with disgust at the smell and at the sight of the mass of worms that was Matou Zouken.

"Weak Servant? Hardly. You currently have trapped your Master and are extracting every single unit of prana he can muster. You kidnapped all those blast survivors and turned them into prana as well. You currently have a Berserker by your side and that priest as well. As compared to that, Saber is running around like a headless chicken while Archer is simply moping around." Zouken said softly. Caster smirked from inside her hood.

"An impressive usage of worms, I see. To tell you the truth, I rather underestimated you. Using worms as familiars seemed to be a bad idea however it seems that you have made good use of them as information gatherers. Your best work, however, is your own granddaughter. Converting her into a lesser Grail who is completely under your control by possession? Something so disgustingly practical is something to be admired no matter how hideous it is." Caster said in a neutral tone.

"Well well, I am flattered. Didn't think that I would live long enough to have my work praised by a witch from the Age of Gods for whom I have no regard." Zouken said with a wet chuckle.

There was a silence. Both sides knew that meaningless banter was just a method the other party was using to psychologically force the other into submitting. However, both of them realized that the other was absolutely not terrified by them at all.

Zouken may have found much in her territory but that failed to scare her since she was confident in her strength.

Caster may know all about Zouken's plans but her subtle threats failed simply because Zouken wasn't afraid of death any more.

Both sides stared at each other for a moment.

And then a swarm of winged worms suddenly rose up from Zouken's masses surrounding her and promptly attacked her.

Caster disappeared and then reappeared several feet away above. Her purple hood seemed to have spread out like the wings of some abominable butterfly. Without even an incantation or an aria, several orbs of light seemed to appear around her. Zouken's winged worms raced across the air to get her. A split second's worth would be enough.

Caster's Rain of Light hit Zouken and the surrounding area seemed to be pulverized. The dead tree trunks instantly smoldered, turned into ash and blown away. The earth seemed to be hit by the full concentrated power of an air strike. Caster really wasn't taking any chances.

After thirty seconds of destroying the area, Caster finally ceased fire and after some time, floated down.

"Breaker Gorgon!" A woman's yell was heard. Instantly, the atmosphere seemed to freeze. Caster cursed as she realized that she had thoroughly fallen for a trap. It seemed that this Servant's nature was Monstrous and being dematerialized among all these horrors actually acted as a sort of invisibility. Add the fact that Caster was only paying attention to Zouken, it became understandable that Rider's appearance took her completely by surprise.

This woman was the Gorgon Medusa. Caster could tell now because of her petrifying gaze. While Caster's mana rank was sufficiently high to avoid petrification, it still slowed her down enough to give Medusa the chance to smash apart her face. The pressure she was feeling would prevent her from firing another spell long enough for Medusa to kill her.

Medusa's chain nail was intercepted at the last second by Berserker. The normally invincible Servant had some trouble against the Gorgon after which he haphazardly shoved her away. Rider gracefully flew through the air, somersaulted and landed on all fours, her hair lying all around her. Berserker raced towards Medusa but paused as a very accurately thrown knife had to be deflected by him with his spear. Assassin peaked through the branches, no longer worried about being exposed since Medusa was here to back him up.

"It seemed that we both brought our trump cards." Zouken observed. Caster didn't answer, silently praising herself for having the foresight to use a Command Spell on Berserker before coming here. She had commanded him to protect her no matter what. A slightly redundant command but it was now proving effective. Berserker' Mana Capacity was B-ranked which meant that he would really be hard pressed to move at all. It was only his A-ranked Battle Continuation that allowed him to even move properly. However, the Command Spell at least alleviated the pressure off of him to a certain degree.

"So that's where the Black Grail's dog and that desert spider were hiding. You kept them close, worm." Caster spat out as she struggled to right herself.

"You are no better than me, witch." Zouken gurgled.

And then moved at a frighteningly quick speed. The mass of worms was either completely unaffected by Medusa's petrifying eyes or was ignoring the effects. Whatever the reason, it was moving far too quickly for something that should be half dead and made of worms.

"Berserker!" Caster cried out in alarm. The spear wielding Servant stabbed at the mass of worms but it was useless. Seconds later, the mad Servant was forced to defend himself against the Gorgon and the Assassin's onslaught.

If it wasn't for Medusa's Mystic Eyes, Caster would have no problem in fending off Zouken. Unfortunately, either Caster was really unfortunate or Zouken had planned the entire scenario from the beginning. The mass of worms managed to pin her down. The disgusting and filthy creatures bore down on her.

Caster screamed.

Berserker, bound by his contract to serve her, tried to rescue her, but he was blocked by Rider once more.

"Damn you!" Caster screamed as she struggled against the deluge of slimy worms. Some of them were already getting in her clothes and sliding into and around her body.

"Hush, you'll bite your tongue off." Zouken whispered almost lovingly.

The entire battle was reversed in a single instant by Berserker. Forced into a corner by Rider, he resorted to his actual trump card.

"**GAE BOLG!**" The mad Servant roared as he activated his Noble Phantasm. The thrust was directed at Medusa's head. The Gorgon dodged the attack.

Only to find the lance inexplicably skewered through her chest. Somehow, Berserker had hit her. But she had dodged, hadn't she? The red demonic spear had somehow sealed her fate.

"Sakura…" The Gorgon murmured. She didn't sound angry, hateful or sorrowful. Her expression was that of surprise as if she couldn't believe her death was possible. With a sigh, the Gorgon died and her body withered away.

Instantly, the effects of the Gorgon's eyes were cancelled. Both Caster and Berserker felt the pressure exerted by the Mystic Eyes being lifted. With a single word, Caster purged herself thaumaturgically of the worms that tried to violate her. The Servant of the Spell stood up, a divine fury dancing in her eyes. The mass of worms seemed to glow briefly as Zouken spoke in a commanding voice.

"Assassin, protect the Black Grail!" He said. Without a moment's hesitation, the Servant of Murder leaped away. Caster didn't spare the retreating spidery figure a second glance.

"I will deal with that spider later." She said coldly. And then the glowing orbs of light appeared once more around her.

The Rain of Light formed around her once again. The first attack hit Zouken and fried all the worms around him. She waited to see what happened and saw that the worms were somehow healing themselves.

"Very unfortunately for you, Caster, I am immortal!" He laughed as he fully healed from Caster scorching hot spell.

"That's good. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to satisfy myself." Caster said coldly.

She repeatedly bombarded Zouken's body as if taking revenge for trying to defile her. Zouken's laugh turned into groans, his groans turned into whimpers and finally he started screaming. However Caster did not pause. She hit him enough time that most of his worms were turned into paste. The main body ended up looking like a mangled mass of putrid flesh that was trying to regenerate after every hit.

Caster always waited until Zouken was back into his original form. Then she would bombard him again. Berserker finally turned away and looked into another direction after the first ten times.

Caster did not pause. She always made sure Zouken fully healed before casting a spell again.

After wasting nearly several thousand units of prana, Caster stopped.

"Where has the boy named Emiya Shirou gone? I need him." She said in a measured tone. She was ready to torture him again if the need arose.

There was a pause. Then finally, sounding as if he was on his death bed, Zouken croaked.

"So… you figured out… that boy's importance. Why… didn't… you follow… him… yourself?" he asked.

"And risk a fight with Saber? Don't be daft, scum." Caster scoffed.

"So… you fought… me? You… don't think… far… don't you?" Zouken said. Caster glared at him or what remained of him. Even when clearly outmatched, he was so arrogant! Caster briefly considered teaching him a lesson but decided against it. She had, in her fury, lost more prana than she had estimated she would need to deal with him. If nothing else, this man was large enough an eyesore to get under her skin.

"That boy is necessary to break the Black Grail. Whoever controls him can gain leverage against Matou Sakura. You know this as well as I do. And I will make you co-operate with me, Matou Zouken, even if it is the last thing I do." Caster grit her teeth as she pronounced his fate.

"You want the Grail… that much? What is… your wish?" Zouken asked.

"I am going to destroy this world. Everything within it." Caster said. A silence fell as Zouken contemplated Caster's wish.

"You can't… be serious!" He said finally.

"Oh trust me, Matou Zouken, I am serious. This ugly and disgusting world that has no justice within it is only fit to be destroyed." Caster said.

"But… if you do that… you will die… as well!" Zouken protested.

"Do you truly believe that I have any reason for living? Now that I am dead, Death no longer frightens me. And now the very thing that held me back, the fear for my life, is gone; I can exact my revenge on the world." Caster said. Her cape seemed to elongate until it separated from the main body and turned into a bag of some sort.

"Medea of Colchis, you truly are one hateful woman. You intend to destroy a world that has done you no ill?" Zouken asked.

"It hasn't done me any ill _yet_. If I live long enough, it will and I intend to destroy it before it does." Caster said. The cloth she had produced wrapped up the pathetic mass of worms that was Matou Zouken. The packet of worms levitated and then followed Caster.

"Observe Zouken as I shall use your very system to destroy you since there is no other way for me to kill an immortal being like you." Caster said in a sinister manner.

* * *

"And this is what I made for dinner. I am sorry but there is no table because Saber accidentally broke it." Ilyasviel said proudly, showing her creation. The white haired girl set down the large bowl on the ground. Bazett, Lancer and Ilyasviel were currently inside the living room which lacked a table. Bazett fought the urge to cringe. It looked like someone had boiled the pork. Then immediately put it through several fire spells. Then judiciously used salt and pepper.

Lancer, on the other hand, bowed deeply. The thing called a television blared about gas leaks and people going into commas. Bazett wondered how long would it take for Lancer to catch up with her if she decided to bolt.

"I am honored to be able to food made by you, Ilya." He said. And promptly ate the entire thing. Bazett now felt torn between the need to run away from this house of madness or watch it in horrified fascination at the sight of the notorious Herakles eating pork while sitting like a Japanese.

She decided to sit there and watch in horrified fascination at Lancer.

"Excuse me, Ilyasviel Emiya, but shouldn't we focus on the Grail War?" The Irish woman finally asked.

"You are already out of the War. I am only housing you here until Daddy returns. When he comes, he will deal with you. As for me, I need not worry for Lancer is the strongest Servant there is. He can't lose!" Ilyasviel said in a satisfied manner as if the matter was settled. Bazett didn't know whether to admire such optimism or face fault at it.

"With all due respect, Lancer just got his face blown off by Archer. Are you sure Archer cannot defeat him?" Bazett asked.

"What a foolish question. I am now immune to his Noble Phantasm. It only works once against me. As soon as Archer used his Noble Phantasm against me, he lost." Lancer boasted. Bazett felt like saying something sarcastic but decided against it. She was now seriously having doubts in participating in this War.

Ilyasviel suddenly stiffened.

"Rider has been eliminated." She said. All traces of childish playfulness were gone from the snow haired girl's voice. Her eyes seemed to grow colder.

"What now, Ilya?" Lancer asked. He seemed to have cooled down as well.

"We wait. Blindly rushing in wouldn't be of much use." Ilya said. She turned to look at Bazett. "You will go ahead and scout in my stead." Ilya commanded.

"Why me?" Bazett asked.

"Because Lancer and I are too conspicuous. You are at least an Enforcer. You know how to move stealthily. And because I said so." Ilya said. Bazett decided to agree with the crazy white haired girl after all. It had been a little more than twelve hours since Berserker had been stolen from her. The stress from maintaining Berserker was gone but Bazett felt extremely tired. Nonetheless, as an Enforcer, she was used to going on extended periods of time without food and rest.

"Oh any by the way, Miss McRemitz. Do not consider escape. I can assure you that it will do no good." Ilya smiled coldly at the larger woman. Bazett frowned. It was quite one thing to issue a death threat but it was quite another to kill someone. Simply put, Bazett severely becoming frustrated at her inability to escape and quite annoyed with Ilya. If things considered like this, she would seriously consider running away and dealing with Caster on her own, Lancer and his Mistress be damned.

The Irish woman left the house in a huff, not aware that another chain of events waited to start.

* * *

Emiya Shirou, meanwhile, was wandering around town. He had somehow managed to thoughtlessly wander out of the forest and in to the city. His mind was completely blank and he had no idea on what to do. After coming up with no better thoughts, he decided to go back home. Blank faced as if he had gone through another Fuyuki Disaster, the red headed magus stumbled through the various parts of town.

He felt hungry and briefly paused in front of a food cart. He checked his pockets and frowned. He didn't have enough money. Sighing at his misfortune, the hungry boy continued on his way back.

After a few more minutes of wandering, the boy sat down on a bench. Life passed around him and for a moment, Emiya Shirou allowed himself to immerse himself into the sound of the urban jungle. Cars sped along the road, people walked on the pavement, dogs barked, people clicked away on their cell phones.

Only a day ago, he had ended up killing two hundred people and yet life continued unhindered. This feeling of apathy and indifference seemed to rock Shirou down to the core. The oddest thing about humans was that despite calling themselves social animals, they were the most selfish creatures. This truth was something Shirou knew for a long time but actually seeing it was something else.

But then again, who was he to say how should people react? All his life, he tried to help people but ended up simply destroying them when the time came. If the world wasn't making sense to him currently it simply meant that perhaps reality was enforcing itself on him.

Sighing in a tired manner, the red haired magus prepared to start walking all the way back once more.

Life, he decided, was much more complex and uglier than he had thought. It didn't feel right for people to not care about the deaths of hundreds. He had entered this war despite his father's insistence against it, fully expecting to be doing the right thing. Yet he couldn't even keep his own Servant around him. He couldn't do the right thing at the right time. Perhaps it wasn't too late to somehow give his Command Spells to his father? But Saber had said that she would kill him if something like that.

"Damn, why do things like this have to be so hard?" Shirou said in an angry tone as he ran his hand through his hair several times. People gave him strange looks but Shirou didn't care. Nothing made sense to him anymore. Why were people so apathetic about the world around them? Was he the crazy one or was the rest of the world insane? What happened to all the good things in life?

He noticed a shop selling various electrical appliances. Several television sets were facing outside, each one showing a different station. Shirou walked over to the few people who were watching, curious on any news inside Fuyuki. Browsing through the various sets, he found the one showing the news.

And then felt both guilty and disappointed. Apparently, the number of deaths from the mysterious 'rocket attack' had risen to three hundred. The police had neither confirmed nor denied that it was a terrorist attack neither had they asked the special forces to investigate.

After barely dedicating thirty seconds to the dead, the news anchor had continued to another story, something about a new bill or some other political paperwork. Was that how little the dead amounted to? Were they only slightly higher in priority than a few scraps of paper?

"Shit, I don't know what to do anymore. Was my way of living a mistake?" Shirou said in a pained voice.

What did it mean to save people if the people themselves showed no reason to be saved?

If the people didn't want to be saved, was it wrong to save them at all?

Emiya Shirou thought hard. Those things couldn't be wrong. His father, Ilya, Maiya-neesan and even Fujimura-sensei had praised these thoughts. The closest thing his father had said as a warning was that heroes had a time limit and that they could only save those who were on their side. Only now had Shirou started to understand. Or more appropriately, he had stopped misunderstanding.

"Archer." Emiya Shirou gritted his teeth. He knew who he was. It was exactly because he knew who he was which was why he so desperately wanted to prove himself wrong.

Except that he had immediately proven _himself_ wrong by killing two hundred and fifty people. Archer had furiously told him, when he had punched him in the face, that he would never become a hero.

But the question that was on his mind now was why did he want to become a hero?

For the first time in nearly ten years, Emiya Shirou mentally paused and thought. He looked into himself.

Why had he wanted to become an Ally of Justice? As far as he knew, it was because it was a concept that gave him happiness. It was also something that made others happy as well. Yet when he saw for the first time, the self destructive mindset of humanity, he seriously began to doubt the need for heroism.

Emiya Shirou suddenly shook himself.

The answer had been simple. He could get it from someone who knew him better than his family members. Taking up a brisk pace, Emiya Shirou headed back to his home. Saber would probably be there and if not, he would ask Ilya to help him find her. With her by his side so that she would prevent him from harming others, he would go find Archer.

Only he could answer the question about himself.

* * *

Assassin had been right. He could either mope about and lament about his fate or he could stand up and try to do something. It was extremely hard getting up after vomiting. The pain wasn't fully gone as well. He had staggered around before vomiting his guts out a second time. He had crawled out of the bathroom, collapsed on the floor and went to sleep.

He had woken up later a little around after midday. He had expected to either go vomit a third time or feel too weak to do anything. But after that, he felt steady enough. He had weakly walked over to the kitchen and taken out some fruit juice that was miraculously inside the pantry. He drank it while sitting in a chair and contemplating his current situation.

Sakura was gone. He had shamelessly betrayed Emiya Shirou. Assassin had left him for Grandfather while Rider was with either Sakura or Grandfather as well. However, there was a single difference between the previous scenario and the current situation. Sighing in self pity, Shinji got out of the kitchen and into the living room. Perhaps some television would take his mind off things.

It was then he noticed the coffee table. He had placed the Book of the False attendant, a book which functioned as a false Command Spell for Rider, there. According to Sakura, if the book burned up, it meant that Rider had died.

There were was a small pile of ashes there instead of a book. Rider was dead and that must mean Sakura was in trouble.

No matter how dangerous the situation will now become, the man known as Matou Shinji will now face them if only because he is tired of being kicked around and taken for granted. Assassin was right. He always had the free will to stand up. No one stopped him. He was just too terrified to take his chances. But there was a limit to his cowardice and Matou Shinji believed that he had reached it. Whether any miracles would happen after this brief bout of courage was something he had yet to see.

Shinji got up and ran into the kitchen. He fished out the largest knife he could fit into his pocket and decided to go get Sakura. The weapon was for protection against any enemies. Although it would be next to useless against any Servants but he might be able to injure Masters if they decided to be fool hardy enough.

A knife was something that was effective against nearly all humans. Bullets might miss in the hands of the amateurs while bomb might fail to detonate but all a blade needed was a single goof thrust into flesh. It was something that was lethal in the hands of everyone or at the very least, being capable of damage.

Matou Shinji dashed out of his luxuriant prison known as the Matou Manor and continued outside, not even bothering to shut the door behind him. It wasn't like there was anything valuable left in there. All things that Matou Shinji had valued had either been stolen from him by his grandfather or he himself discarded. It was time he stood up and took them back.

The most obvious place where Sakura might be was school although even Shinji knew hoping to find her there would be quite convenient. School would be the last place where Sakura would be considering how distressed she had been. Still, it was worth a shot. Not knowing what else to do since his mind was firmly stuck on school, he decided to head there. Perhaps he might find someone who might have seen Sakura.

Shinji had skipped school ever since the Grail War started. He didn't know what were the effects of playing truant were since he hadn't actually missed a single day. So he was more than a little apprehensive when he came close to the school. And jumped when someone slapped him in the back.

"Yo, Matou! What are you doing here?" The brown haired girl asked. She was wearing a standard kyuudo uniform.

"Mitsuzuri? What are you doing outside of school?" Shinji asked in an angry tone.

Mitsuzuri Ayako, brown haired captain of the archery club. The kind of woman who everyone would expect to be found in a dojo rather than a tea ceremony club. The kind of woman who actually kindled the spirit of competitiveness than protectiveness among men.

The kind of woman who would punch you in the face, as Shinji had painfully realized an year earlier, than be embarrassed about anything.

Quick to anger and even quicker to cool with a competitive streak as large as Emiya's, this summed up the woman known as Mitsuzuri Ayako.

"Oh, you didn't know? Most schools have shut down temporarily because of the 'mysterious rocket attack'. Fujimura sensei was actually quite furious that she wasn't even allowed to visit Emiya." Ayako said.

"Then what are you doing in a club uniform?" Shinji asked in a confused voice, forgetting about Sakura for a moment.

"I snuck in to practice!" Ayako said.

A competitive streak as large as Emiya's but a measure of common sense definitely smaller, this summed up the woman known as Mitsuzuri Ayako.

"Never mind that. Have you seen Sakura? She isn't at home!" Shinji urgently asked.

"She isn't? Have you tried contacting the police?" Ayako said in a worried tone. Shinji's mind seemed to run full tilt into a mental wall. How was he supposed to tell the police? A hypothetical scenario unwillingly sprang into his mind.

'_Excuse me sir, but my adopted sister has wandered out of home because she believes the man she is in live with died during a secret magical war which is going on in this city!_'

'_How tragic! Sit down and let me file a report on that! Don't worry son, we have the full cooperation with the fairy association and vampire institute. We are also going to contact Albus Dumbledore while we are at it!_'

Shinji needed to get away from Mitsuzuri Ayako before she started getting anymore bright ideas. Unfortunately, said woman was holding on to his sleeve and dragging him.

"How could an irresponsible man like you also happen to be a brother escapes me. Something must be wrong with the structure of this world." Ayako said as she dragged the unwilling Shinji.

"Says the woman who snuck into school just to practice archery!" Shinji growled.

"That is different! This is-" Ayako said but was interrupted by Shinji's shout.

"Look, it's Misora Naomi!" He yelled, pointing in a random direction.

"What?" Ayako said, confused by the shout. Shinji took advantage of the situation and twisted his sleeve out of Ayako's grip. As soon as he was free, he sprinted away. People stared and he was sure he also heard some chuckles and laughs from the spectating masses but Shinji shamelessly ran. Shinji did not care whether he had to use such an obvious joke to escape. Anything was permitted.

Matou Shinji walked through the various streets in Fuyuki city. The sad part about searching for his sister was that he had no idea where she was. It occurred to Shinji that despite trying to be the best brother and relieve his guilt, he hadn't made single attempt to get to know here.

He had always tried to protect Sakura but did he ever encourage Sakura to stand up for herself?

He had always tried to play the role of the elder brother but had he ever played the role of the friend?

He had always, in his blind belief of fulfilling his duty, tried to be patient and tolerant. Not that he ever succeeded fully but he always tried and even Sakura could tell that he was trying and both would often end up apologizing to each other.

It was always 'Sakura this' and 'Sakura that' but had he actually ever tried to do something worthwhile? Nope.

Matou Shinji stopped. He needed to think not like someone pretending to be an elder brother but as someone who actually was Sakura's elder brother. Sakura had just had her heart broken. Where would she most probably go?

The answer came to him so quickly that for a moment, Matou Shinji was surprised that he could think so selflessly.

It was simple. She would go to Emiya's home. She would at least try to confirm Emiya's death. That shred of hope alone would drive her. Quickly readjusting his direction, Shinji sprinted towards the Emiya residence. He had, thankfully, been there several times so he had no prolem in navigation.

He didn't notice that the number of people in this area were slowly growing less the deeper he went. Shadows became darker. Despite it being day, it seemed that something sinister lurked in this part of the city. Unfortunately, Matou Shinji was not a magus.

But despite his lack of magic circuits, he could recognize the girl known as Matou Sakura anywhere. Sitting on a park bench with her head lowered, she looked the epitome of despair.

"Sakura!" Shinji yelled. In his relief on finding her adopted sister, two obvious questions didn't arise in his mind. Why weren't there any people in this place? It was virtually deserted and cold as a freezer. And secondly, how come he found Sakura so quickly as soon as he woke up? It was almost as if someone wanted him to find her.

"Nii-san! Get away! It's a trap!" Sakura yelled. Shinji felt the air briefly compress around him.

"You know, it's slightly unfunny how you fell for this incredibly obvious ambush, little man. And it took you so long to come here as well. I have half a mind to simply grind your skull to dust." A man said. Shinji turned around to see a tall reptilian man in black standing. He held a poleaxe of some sort in one hand. The other held a scrying crystal.

Shinji knew he was in trouble. He mentally called out for Assassin, hoping the Servant of Murder would somehow be able to rescue him on time.

"But what can I say? Caster needs both of you for her plan and I intend to follow her. She is the one most deserving of the Grail after all. So you have a choice. I can either cut off your limbs and force you to come with me or you can come with me on your own accord. Don't worry about dying. I am confident in my skills that I can inflict a world of pain on you without you perishing." The man said, a sick grin plastered across his face.

"Sakura, run!" Shinji hissed.

"Oh yes, how I love this line. It seems that you think you will be able to buy her a few precious seconds while you hold me off. Admirable but mistaken." The man said. He gestured towards Sakura with his head. "I know how these things work out which is why I took the precaution of sewing her shadow to the ground with my Black Keys. She can only sit there until I wish otherwise." Shinji noticed that four short swords with red hilts were pinning Sakura's shadow. "Now boy. Make your choice."

With a sinking heart, Shinji realized that he was well and truly trapped.

_**I know this chapter is short but it is the most I could come up with. On the bright side, I have decided not to let anyone adopt it and end it, badly or not. The Priest of Zero, however, is still up. Anyone want it, contact me. Expect the next chapter to take longer.**_

_**Sincerely sorry for the long delay and poor update.**_


	7. Purpose of Wishes

**Chapter Seven: Purpose of Wishes**

Matou Shinji was extremely glad that he had emptied his bladder because he really didn't want to wet his pants. The man in front of him was carrying a halberd which was taller than him. He looked reptilian but his overall appearance was slightly ridiculous, as if he had been drawn by a drunken amateur manga artist. But it was exactly why he looked so frightening. Knowing that someone so comedic and laughable could be so horrible and sadistic sent a shiver down his spine.

"Boy, step down. I did say that you have a choice. I would rather not take the hard choice because Caster is going to be angry." The white haired man said softly. Matou Shinji didn't believe him for a minute. The only plus side about going in easy would be not being immediately maimed or tortured. However, if this Caster, who was a Servant of Magic, was anything like his grandfather then he should probably struggle till the bitter end. Shinji simply took out his kitchen knife and held it in both hands as steadily as he could, pointing the tip towards the reptilian man.

"Oh well, he resisted. Hard choice it is then." The white haired man said in a light hearted tone.

And the world suddenly seemed to turn rapidly as the white haired man's heel connected with Shinji's chest. Shinji found himself lying with his back to the ground, every inch of his body aching. For a moment, he was so confused that he even forgot what he was doing there. The pain from hitting the ground seemed to have overridden every single impulse. The knife, however, was still in hand. He had held his only weapon tightly, some deep seated survival instinct providing him the strength to do so.

"Does the change of view bring any changes in your perspective?" The man said. His foot was resting on Shinji's chest as if he was some prize game that had been shot down in a hunt. The man started to slowly increase the pressure. However, Shinji wasn't paying any attention to him.

His right forearm had started to throb and he was seeing visions of someone climbing up a building.

The vision only lasted for a split second but that alone had been enough. Shinji now knew what he had to do.

He had to somehow delay this man for thirty seconds.

Shinji only knew one way to delay a man like him. Gripping his knife tightly, he stabbed the man's ankle. The blade barely penetrated two millimeters. It did, however, have the intended effect.

"You Asians don't understand the meaning of gratitude, do you?" The man said. He didn't seem perturbed by the knife pricking his ankle at all. He did, however, look extremely angry. "I give you a choice and you squander it. Seems like it is the hard way for you after all." Casually lifting his foot, he brought it down on Shinji's right forearm.

Shinji screamed. He screamed and screamed and kept screaming until he couldn't scream anymore. Then he screamed some more anyways. The white haired man had crushed his bones and caused the worm inside to panic and dig through his flesh. Tears of pain flowed from his eyes, blurring his vision.

"Well, what do you have to say?" The white haired man asked softly.

Despite the deep pain in his forearm and the sensation of broken bone, Shinji still managed to laugh.

"YOU LOSE!" he laughed in defiance, his whole body still wracked with agony but his heart jumping about at the prospect of imminent victory.

With his gigantic hood flapping magnificently, Assassin landed a few feet away from the white haired man hard enough for the road to cave beneath his feet. As soon as he landed, Assassin threw four knives with surgical precision at his target's right eye, throat, sternum and kidney.

All four knives hit an invisible barrier and failed to penetrate it.

Assassin casually dodged a Black Key thrown by the white haired man and then watched as the man broke into a run and ran away.

"Well, that was unusually sensible of him." The masked Servant commented before hurrying over to the still sobbing Shinji and picking him up.

"Idiot! What took you so long?" Shinji sobbed.

"My apologies, Master. That man is carrying two bounded fields. The first one is close to his person and protects him from attacks. The second one is nearly fifty feet in radius and cylindrical in shape. It prevents enemies from entering except that it can be infiltrated by dropping from above because it has no top for some reason. I had to climb a building to do that which is why I asked yout o delay him for a few moments for me." Assassin said.

Shinji, however, wasn't paying attention at all since he had finally passed out from pain and relief. Sakura, on the other hand, was looking at Assassin with wide eyes.

Assassin pulled out the Black Keys which had been firmly embedded into the ground and tossed them away. Then he faced the purple haired woman who was his current Master's adopted granddaughter.

"Um, since Master is captured and my Master here is passed out, can you please tell me where should we go? Both of you need treatment, in my opinion." Assassin said hesitantly.

"We should go to Emiya-senpai's house. I am sure he would help us." The purple haired girl said uncertainly. Assassin wasn't so certain whether they would be helpful at all considering that he had just kidnapped Emiya Shirou barely sixteen hours ago. If Saber would be there, he would be sliced to pieces before he could even dematerialize.

However, Shinji was bleeding and in dire need of medical aid. No matter how dangerous the place was, if it would help Shinji then Assassin had no hesitance in going there. Shiji had proven himself and deserved it.

Picking up the purple haired girl quickly, Assassin raced to the Emiya residence.

And nearly decapitated himself by running into a bar of sharpened stone.

"A poor Assassin you must be, considering your entry." Lancer said casually. He had lightly swung his slab of stone which functioned as his spear-blade and nearly killed him. Well, it wasn't so surprising considering that he was, according to his Master's knowledge, the strongest man in the world and the hero of Dorians, Herakles. The chances of Assassin surviving against him were close to zero. The legendary hero seemed to have rushed out of the house without even destroying it, a feat in itself, to intercept him when he had rushed into the bounds of the residence.

"My Master is in danger and I do not have any means of restoring him. Please, we beg of you to help us." Assassin said.

"A poor parley you present. You have kidnapped my Mistress's brother and now you come here for aid? Do you have no shame?" Lancer growled, his tone changing instantly.

Assassin remained silent.

"Only my Master requires treatment. Would my life be a sufficient substitute?" Assassin asked quietly.

"Assassin!" Sakura said, emotion coloring her voice for the first time. Lancer gazed at Assassin critically.

"It seems that I misjudged you, measly spider. You have some backbone after all. Your life is a sufficient substitute." Lancer said as he raised his spear-blade.

Assassin set down his Master and his sister. He stood up straight and faced Lancer.

"Do not go back on your word after my death, Knight of the Spear." He said.

"On my honor, I shan't." Lancer vowed.

The blade descended with a speed faster than any gale or hurricane. Nothing could stop the blow of the strongest man ever.

"Lancer, you idiot! Stop that at once!" A sharp and loud voice commanded. Assassin's hidden eyes widened as he saw the spear blade stop a few inches above his head. Only a Command Spell could have stopped this man.

"Ilya, why did you do that? I was about to avenge your brother!" Lancer said in an agitated tone.

"We are not in Ancient Greece, idiot! We are in the Grail War! Things work differently here!" Ilya's voice came as she stepped out of the house. She was followed by, to Assassin's everlasting dismay, Saber.

"Lancer, as much as I understand your anger, I do not believe it is a wise course of action." Saber said softly.

"Come inside! Don't try any funny stuff or I won't stop Lancer this time!" Ilya said cheerfully. Assassin meekly shuffled inside carrying Shinji's body under the intense glares of both Saber and Lancer with Sakura shuffling along behind him.

The Middle Eastern Servant followed the white haired girl through the various corridors of the Emiya Residence before stopping in front of a room. Ilya slid open the door and ushered Assassin inside where an unkempt futon was already present. Assassin put Shinji down on the futon and stood up, taking in the features. This room belonged to Emiya Shirou and he had kidnapped him only a few hours ago from here and barely escaped from Saber. It was supremely ironic that he was now turning for aid towards the very house he had violated.

But then again, one must not be too proud to beg in war since there was no such thing as pride in war to begin with.

A black haired woman walked into the room carrying a large white box with a red cross painted on its lid.

"Sakura, you hold his arm here while…" the black haired woman instructed the purple haired girl who had been anxiously gripping her brother's hand.

"You! Leave us! I can't focus on healing him with someone like you hovering behind me!" The little white haired girl said to Assassin. Realizing when his presence was no longer required, Assassin bowed slightly and moved out of the room. The paper panel slid shut and for a moment, Assassin was at a loss on what to do.

He felt a powerful Servant stare at him in the back. Assassin heaved a cold sigh. He wasn't naïve enough to believe that he wasn't in trouble.

"Come with me." Saber commanded him. She led him outside and then turned to face him.

"What happened to my Master?" She demanded.

"My Master had no use of him so he let him go. I am surprised you are still here and not chasing after him." Assassin said. He knew he was dangerously close to angering Saber but he really wanted to know why she was here.

"I couldn't find him. I only came back because morning came and we are not allowed to wander out during the day." Saber said to no one in particular. Assassin, however, had the feeling that she was trying to appease her sense of guilt.

"Make no mistake, Assassin. As much as it shames me to admit it, I still cannot bring myself up to forgive you. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to thrust my blade through your heart. However, I recognize that you only acted up to the best of your abilities as an Assassin and that Ilya wouldn't want me to kill you yet." Saber said.

Assassin blinked. This was, he had to admit, surprisingly unexpected and positively pleasant. A Knight wasn't convinced of their self righteousness! And a Saber as well! That was a rare sight to behold.

"I still disagree with Ilya. I am the strongest Servant! There is no need for diplomacy and tactics when you have someone like me! My hide is a good enough shield and my strength is a good enough weapon. If Ilya would just allow me, I could finish this farce of a war in a day!" Lancer grumbled as he came outside as well.

"You yourself know that rampaging about only causes Ilya pain. Which is why you hold back in the first place!" Saber said sharply.

"With my power held back, I can finish this war in a day. With all of my power, I can finish it before the sun rises." Lancer declared.

Assassin narrowed his eyes. Lancer was so sure of his own power, justified though it was, that it was almost too painful to watch. It wasn't as if Lancer was wrong. The simple problem was that Lancer's ego was making Assassin want to attack him just to shut him up.

"Well, little spider," Lancer asked derisively. "What is your wish?"

"What do you mean by that?" Assassin asked hesitantly.

"Your wish, fool! Why do you want the Holy Grail?" Lancer asked. Saber also looked expectantly at him.

"Well, what do you want? What can the Holy Grail offer to the Mighty Herakles?" Assassin asked.

"Nothing." Lancer said brusquely. Assassin was taken aback a little bit.

"Nothing?" Assassin asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. I merely answered Ilya's summon because the thought of walking on earth again and battling great heroes of the past was entertaining. However, I don't have wish. I lived a good life and have no desires left." Lancer said.

Assassin felt impressed slightly. Even the greatest of men, he had learned during his training with the Hashishin, had a price. But Lancer was truly priceless. Assassin could tell that was so simply because Lancer didn't seem like the person to lie. People lie to cover their weaknesses so why would the strongest human ever lie since he had no weaknesses?

"I," Assassin began to speak. Then he paused. What was his wish again?

Ah yes, his wish. But hadn't he already seen his answer?

There was no reason to pursue the Grail anymore. His wish had been granted.

"I don't have a wish either." Assassin said. Saber and Lancer looked at him, slightly intrigued.

"And pray tell why is that?" Saber said.

"I lived my life wondering whether I could have done anything to change it or not." Assassin said. It was true as well. During those brief, lucid moment when his mind was clear of hashish, he would often wonder whether he could escape from the enchanted hell known as the Castle of Alamut. In the end, he had died blaming his circumstances, convinced that he couldn't escape the shadow of the Old Man of the Mountain. However, he had been uncertain.

Was it really as simple as it sounded? Could it be that he lived a useless life without struggling? Could it be that it was his fault for not trying to escape in the end?

And then the pathetic excuse of a man known as Matou Shinji proved that Assassin's meaningless life had been his mistake alone.

Even if there wasn't a single ray of hope, one had to struggle. Matou Shinji tried, knowing that it was a pointless endeavor. Granted, it had only been due to Assassin's encouragement which was why he had even tried to improve himself.

But in the end, he had tried even knowing the odds.

"I saw something that proved to me that it was my fault. Now that I have received my answer, there is no need for me to pursue the Grail except under Master's orders." Assassin said.

"Hmph, well if you want to forfeit your claim to the Grail because of something like that, then I can't blame you. It is your own choice." Lancer said in a disgusted tone. Assassin couldn't understand why Lancer would be repelled by such an idea.

"Assassin, you will not seek the Grail to correct your mistake?" Saber asked.

Both Assassin and Lancer fell silent.

"Saber, please clarify."Lancer said in a dangerously quiet voice.

"You could use the power of the Grail to go back and correct your mistakes. You could live a better life. Perhaps even become a proper hero." Saber suggested.

There was a deathly silence.

"And why would I want to do that, Saber?" Assassin asked.

"As I said, to correct your mistakes…" Saber said.

"There is no point in doing that. Those mistakes are a part of my life. Undoing them would mean denying my own existence." Assassin said.

"But…" Saber said before being cutoff.

"What an outrageous idea are you suggesting, Saber? Don't tell me that is your wish!" Lancer said in a loud voice as he pounded his fist against the house wall, leaving a hole in it. His demeanor dared her to contradict him. Saber didn't back down, staring at the strongest Hero in the eye.

"With a gaze rivaling mine, I am surprised that you have an absurd wish like that. Why do you have it?" Lancer growled. Assassin looked at Saber with an expectant air as well. There was a pregnant pause while the two Servants waited for the third to respond.

"My kingdom was lost due to my own ineptitude. I wish to go back and correct my mistake by giving the crown to someone better suited to run the country." Saber answered.

"Oh, so you lost your kingdom. That is not an unusual occurrence. Nations and kingdoms rise and fall through time. If it didn't fell at that time then it would have fallen at another. You would only be buying your country a few more years at most." Lancer said dismissively.

"Furthermore, you would be erasing yourself. Mistakes can be made but we learn through them; we don't destroy our own mistakes. If you try to cut off a loose thread of a quilt, you risk damaging the quilt itself." Assassin said.

"But…" Saber said.

"SILENCE! I will not hear more from you, little girl! What a merry jest this is. Here I thought that I would be able to fight the greatest heroes of all times and all I find are women and worms! Hear this from me, Saber." Lancer said as he turned his gaze towards the blonde woman. "I will battle alongside you but do not expect me to treat you as someone worthy of the Saber class! You are just a little girl with a pretty sword in my eyes now." And after saying that, the gigantic tan skinned Servant dematerialized.

Assassin and Saber looked at the spot where Lancer had been sitting.

"Although I do not regard you with disdain, I suggest you realize the implications of your wish, Saber. If you win, you only get one prayer answered. You won't be able to correct it if you dislike it." Assassin said softly before dematerializing himself. The blond swords woman was left alone to ponder her thoughts.

* * *

"My apologies, Caster. I failed to retrieve the Black Grail and Matou Shinji." Sancraid Phahn said as he prostrated before the Servant of Magic.

"It is not your fault, Sancraid. You were against a Heroic Spirit after all. It would be wrong of me to expect much from you after all." Caster said.

"What are we to do now?" Sancraid asked hesitantly.

"It is going to be hard winning this war after all. It seems that even if our actions have destroyed one enemy, it has united the other three. Winning this War is going to take an effort. Which is why I am going to prepare this place for an assault." Caster said grimly.

"Are you expecting a combined charge by those three?" Sancraid asked.

"Yes. My barriers will be enough to stop Assassin at least and may even hinder Lancer but Saber will be able to rip them apart with ease. Berserker might be able to keep Saber and Assassin at bay but he will have trouble against Lancer and most probably will lose. You can only stop the Masters. I will have trouble even against Assassin." Caster said.

"So what do you propose?" Sancraid asked. Caster remained silent for a moment.

"Berserker!" She called out. As soon as she spoke, the Mad Servant materialized instantly beside them, causing Sancraid to jump a little.

"**WHAT?**" He asked in an irritated tone.

"You are to guard the steps leading to my workshop and stop anyone coming. Understood?" Caster said.

"**YES.**" The Irish hero said in a surly tone.

"And just to give you an additional burst of power." Caster added thoughtfully. She gestured towards the Hound of Ulster. Instantly, his long hair stood up on its end, stiff as spikes. One of his eyeballs shrank into his skull while the other enlarged and threatened to pop out. His legs twisted themselves. His mouth opened wide into a horrible grin that showed his gullet.

"Now you are ready." Caster said in a satisfied tone. Berserker looked ready to murder her but was still bound by the Command Spells. He turned around and headed outside. However, even in his insanity, he retained enough sense not to use the door and to simply smash out of the wall to express his anger.

Caster turned to face Sancraid. She offered her right hand to him. Sancraid understood as he took her delicate hand. Carefully, he painted five command spells on the back of her hand. He stood up after having completed his task.

"Rest and recuperate while you guard the tank, Sancraid. I need you at full strength." Caster said shortly before disappearing suddenly. Sancraid understood what she meant. Stored deep within Ryuudou Temple was a glass tank containing thousand of worms. These worms were what comprised of the man known as Matou Zouken. Sancraid gripped his halberd tightly as he hobbled into the inner parts of the temple. He reached the room wich housed the tank, leaned against the wall and sighed.

"Tired of that woman's reign, Phahn?" a voice gurgled. Sancraid had to marvel at the man's resilience. He was possessed by what Caster described as a fetus of evil, had been tortured to the point of insanity by Caster and he till ad enough endurance to try to speak and manipulate him.

However, Sancraid was also curious about this man. What kind of obsession did he have which caused him turn into a mass of worms? Why did he desire the Grail so much? Was all of this pain and humiliation worth the goal he was chasing? In order to learn about him, Sancraid decided to humor the worm.

"Hardly. She and I share a similar goal so any fatigue is worth the trouble." He said.

"Is it really? She wishes to destroy the world, you know?" Zouken said.

"And that is my wish as well." Sancraid said.

There was a pause as the worms inside the glass tanker wriggled around pathetically. Zouken seemed to be thinking hard. Sancraid patiently waited for the worm to question his motives once more. He drew in a long breath, ignoring the foul stench of rotting bodies. All the monks inside the temple were in commas as Caster extracted every bit of prana from their bodies. There had been several people who had come to the temple to pray or to simply look at the sights. They had also been added to caster's prana extraction chambers.

"I give up, Sancraid Phahn. Kotomine Kirei, I could comprehend. You are a mystery. Pray enlighten me?"

"Of course, scum." Sancraid said in a jocular mood. "I simply wish to instigate doomsday to see whether God exists or not."

There was another pause. The previous silence had been that of thoughtfulness. This one was different.

"Are you insane? How does the destruction of the world equate the existence of God? And doesn't a Christian like you depend on something called faith? Where is your faith in God?" Zouken asked, wriggling against the glass.

"Not much of it is left, I am afraid. When you spend your life fighting Apostles who can more often than not alter reality at will, you start becoming skeptical of God's existence. You begin to question whether a great power that watches over you exists or not. So I decided that if the compassionate god of Christianity does exist, he would probably prevent something like the destruction of the planet, right?" Sancraid said.

"So you wish to confirm the existence of your god by forcing him to do something? What would you do if the world gets destroyed?" Zouken asked.

Sancraid frowned.

"Well that would be a dam shame then." He concluded. "So what do you want the Grail for?" Sancraid asked. Zouken ceased moving and appeared to have gone motionless.

"Che, sulking are you? Oh well, the destruction of the world would put a bad taste in one's mouth, I guess." Sancraid concluded.

The sun began to move in the west.

**Yo! All of you guys who patiently waited for this update, Arigatou Gozaimasu! Really grateful for all the love, seriously, really grateful for all the love. Keep it coming!**

**Someone commented on BL that Sancraid Phahn seems cartoonishly EVIL! Well, I actually agree. Sancraid's only purpose here is to serve as a villain. I had crafted a flimsy looking reason long ago and now you have read it. Meh, his cartoonishness doesn't disturb me.**

**What disturbs me actually is that I couldn't make Rider's death any better. Just a thrust through the heart. No drama, no regret, no tragedy. I guess that I went so far ahead in trying to make Lancer a powerful contender that I basically left characterization several miles back.**

**Another thing I am not satisfied with is a distinct lack of Sakura and Ilya Screen Time. Seriously. She is one of my favorite heroines but right now, I am neglecting her. Bad Leo, Bad! No cookie for myself! I hope I will be able to improve.**

**I am really sorry for the short chapter. But basically, actual reality is invading my Reality Marble '**_Infinite Fiction: Procrastination of a Story Lover _**'. Actually, I have several Reality Marbles. It's just that the current one in use is being destroyed. Sigh, guess one can't stop the inevitable. So all I did in this chapter was give Shinji his Crowning Moment of Awesome and explain Sancraid's reason for being stupidly evil. I hope that is enough. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course it isn't. Please forgive me!**


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